Contagious
by dream7me7to7sleep
Summary: Takes place shortly after All In. Allison gets sick, House takes care of her to get out of clinic duty, craziness accumulates! Pairings HouseCameron.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tv show House, or its characters, so don't ask me for money, I make nothing.

Summary: Takes place shortly after "All In". Allison gets sick, House takes care of her to get out of clinic duty, craziness accumulates! Pairings House/Cameron. Definitely a MATURE fic, so if you're a young person please don't read, but if you choose to read anyway, don't say I didn't warn you.

Chapter One: You've Been Bugged

Dr. House limped his usual stride down the hall to the Diagnostics Department. He could see his three little ducklings quacking around the proverbial water cooler; i.e. Cameron's morning pot of coffee. With an over dramatic sweep of his arms, House entered the glass cage.

Pausing momentarily, House looked from glass wall to glass wall and wondered aloud, "Ever stop and wonder if we really i are i lost souls swimming in a fish bowl?" At the blank look of his three colleagues he waved off his remark. "So, what have we got today?" He asked as he grabbed his red mug and began drinking out of it, knowing that Cameron had already filled it.

"Nothing." Foreman looked grumpy, arms crossed over his chest, a deep crease on his brow, "We"

"Shh!" House shushed him as his pager went off. He glanced at it, eyes narrowing. "Cuddy's coming!" He hobbled into his office, locking himself in and drawing the blinds.

"Does he have Wilson paging him whenever Cuddy looks like she might be heading towards diagnostics?" Chase gaped in disbelief. However, to no one's surprise, Cuddy came into the department looking royally pissed off.

"Where is House!?" Cuddy growled low in her throat, a menacing gleam flashing through her eyes that said clear as day that House may be missing a testicle after she finally got her hands on him.

The three colleagues looked from one another, eyes wide and maybe a little fearful, and then glanced at House's office door.

"Figures." Cuddy mumbled under her breath as she practically stomped to the door to give it an experimental tug. When it resisted, Cuddy lost her cool and began banging on the door. "HOUSE!" She shrieked. "You owe me double clinic duty after that stunt you pulled yesterday"

"Which stunt is she talking about?" Chase's brow furrowed.

"Don't ask." Cameron muttered, grabbing her coffee and sitting at the brainstorming table to get started on House's charts.

Foreman choked on a laugh as to not encourage the wrath of the head of the hospital. "He broke into the records office on the OBGYN department to win a bet"

"Yes he did, and now he's avoiding clinic duty." Cuddy growled, "HOUSE!" She went back to banging on his door. "Get your crippled ass out here!" She screamed.

"He's not coming out. General Hospital starts in three minutes." Cameron announced over the chart she was working on.

Cuddy groaned in annoyance, she had an unholy amount of paper work to finish and she knew Cameron was right. "I'll be back in an hour, if he's still not in the clinic, I'll triple his time." She stormed out.

"Won't matter if you schedule him ten times the amount if he doesn't even show up for what he's suppose to." Cameron muttered, finishing the chart and standing up.

"Where are you going?" Foreman asked as she walked towards the door.

"Some of us i don't i avoid clinic like the bubonic plague." She sighed.

Foreman and Chase watched her walk down the hall, "Maybe if it was the bubonic plague House would be interested in showing up in the clinic." Chase chuckled to himself.

"Did Cameron look exhausted to you?" Foreman asked his colleague.

"Yeah, but it's Cameron." Chase shrugged.

Foreman snorted, "Probably up all night writing poetry like i Oh, Dr. House, how do I love thee? They cane is so long and hair so grayi"

"Are you done, or should I continue to listen to you talk about my icanei?" House was leaning in the door jam of his office, "Want to touch it?" He extended his cane to Foreman, who recoiled and caused House to chuckle on the inside. With a shrug House walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Chase asked.

"Clinic"

"WHy didn't you go there before Cuddy reamed you?" Foreman called after him.

House ducked his head back in. "Just to piss her off," as he began walking out the door again he muttered to himself, "and because I didn't know General Hospital was going to be a rerun." As he entered the clinic, House noted Dr. Cameron running around, though not with her usual annoying chipperness. Worming his hand into his coat pocket, he found his pill bottle and made his way to his female subordinate.

"Did you run over a cat on your way to work?" House asked, leaning against the nurse's station.

"What? Why?" Cameron was taken aback by the odd question.

"You're not your usual agitating self. Your sweetness is usually like nails on a chalk board." House replied, flicking off his cap on the bottle of Vicodin. The white top flew into the air and House observed that Cameron did not watch its movement, but only responded when it fell to the ground. Cameron bent over to pick up the cap and as she stood up strait once more, she stumbled.

House groaned and set his pills on the counter quickly, catching his fainting co-worker and supporting her extra weight by leaning against the reception desk.

"Get me a wheelchair." House grunted to a passing nurse.

As the nurse placed Dr. Cameron in the wheel chair, she began to awaken. Immediately House assaulted her eyes with a blinding beam of light, checked her pulse, listened to her heart and hijacked a passing nurse who was carrying a sphygmomanometer so he could check her blood pressure.

Cuddy was passing by and saw her unruly diagnostician hovering over Dr. Cameron rather than attending to the patients in the waiting room. "House," she said, a note of agitation pitching into her voice, "you're suppose to be examining patients, not other doctors." She reminded him in annoyance.

House rolled his eyes, "Dr. Cuddy, Dr. Cameron has just experienced an unexplained fainting spell"

"But... The patients!" Cuddy nearly whined, knowing she was just about to excuse him from his clinic duty once again.

Narrowing his eyes, House straitened up and limped to the waiting room to address the congregation of waiting patients, "Is anyone currently fainting, projectile vomiting or defecating in here?" House called out. No one responded more than to look at one another. Turning back to Cuddy, House grinned at her, "Dr. Cameron is my current priority." And with that wheeled Cameron towards the elevator and up to diagnostics.

Once in the elevator, Cameron sighed, "You don't have to diagnose me"

"Of course I don't, but it gives me an excuse to get out of the clinic today." House answered nonchalantly. "Your blood sugar is low." He smirked at her puzzled look. "You're wearing the same clothes as yesterday, no empty food wrappers in the garbage in our office and decreased response time." He rattled off.

"Ah, so this is a ploy to get you out of work." Cameron lulled her head back. "So what? You're going to put me in a gown, draw blood and test for things I don't have all day long"

"No, as a thank you for getting me out of the clinic I'm taking you out to lunch, and then taking you home for the rest of the day." House explained. "We're going to diagnostics to get your stuff"

As House wheeled his only female colleague into the office, Foreman and Chase stood immediately.

"What happened?" Chase sank down to check her pupil dilations, as Foreman took her pulse. "Nothing a non-hospital food lunch and a nap won't fix." House snarked. "But in the event she keels over, I'll monitor her condition"

Chase stood up, shaking his head. "You'll go to any lengths to avoid clinic won't you"

"Well I didn't inject her with insulin, so maybe ishe'lli go to any lengths to get me out of the clinic." House tossed her purse into her lap and draped Cameron's coat over her shoulders.

"Why don't you give her some food and let us all get on with our lives? You said it yourself, low blood sugar." Foreman reasoned.

"Well ithati wouldn't get me out of the clinic, would it?" House cocked an eyebrow.

"I think Cuddy will be pissed when she finds out it was low blood sugar." Foreman pointed out.

"She also hasn't slept in oh... Forty-eight hours? Do you think it's safe for her to drive when she's already experienced one fainting spell?" "I'm right here, you know?" Cameron pointed out.

"Yes," House pushed her towards the door with a single shove, "and now you're over there." He grabbed his coat and hat and limped back to Cameron. "Page me when someone starts dying"

Foreman and Chase sighed.

//// "Okay, what do you want to eat? I can make take-out Chinese, take-out Italian"

"I'm not hungry." Cameron curled onto the couch, pulling an afghan over her head.

"There's a note, "Allison, took Kane out at two... Who's Kane?" He needn't have asked because a white and red German Shepherd was staring at him from the other side of the kitchen counter. "What are you looking at?" House noted on a closer observation of the dog that it was a female, "And what kind of name is 'Kane' for a female?" House grunted going to Cameron's fridge and pulling out a Power Aid. "Drink this." He handed Cameron the drink. "If you're not going to eat, at least have that"

"Candy-cane." Cameron muttered, the dog trotted over and licked her face in a slopping I'm-Glad-You're-Back kiss.

"Red and white like a candy cane, Candy was too girly so you call her Kane witha K so no one thinks she's crippled?" House pieced together in amusement.

"First half correct second half not. I call her Kane 'cause she reminds me of you." She yawned, turning her face into the side of the couch.

"I wouldn't lick your face"

"No, but she barks orders at me and I can tell what she wants by how she glares at me." Cameron's eyes hooded, sleep coming fast.

"What do I want then?" House asked softly to coax her into sleep.

She yawned again and murmured something that was too incoherent and soft to interpret. House sighed and stood up, limping around her apartment, Kane following his every move. First, House looked at her DVD collection, seeing how many of her movies he'd seen, becoming slightly disarmed that they were in alphabetical order. Next her bookshelf, strewn with Medical books, self-help books, and an eclectic collaboration of fiction.

Next, House checked out her bathroom, Kane still following him with a suspicious eye. Tampons, a pharmacy of vitamins and painkillers, deodorant, liquid body wash, Head and Shoulders shampoo and conditioner. A nearby closet revealed fresh towels and bed linens, all folded, extra toothpaste and toilet paper.

As House walked towards a closed room, Kane growled deep in her throat in warning. "Ah, the bedroom." The dog's furs rose between her shoulder blade. "Okay, I'll leave it alone, but only because I don't feel like losing my trachea." He rolled his eyes.

Walking back to the living room, he found Cameron still fast asleep on the couch, Kane curled up on the floor next to her, lifting her head every once and a while to lick the palm of her owner's dangling hand.

Grabbing "Animal Farm" off of the bookshelf, House made himself comfy on the adjoining sofa and began to read. Around the end of chapter nine, coming towards the final chapter, Cameron began to stir. House watched her awaken with interest. Her face was flushed and perspiration was forming on her forehead.

Sighing, House stood up and grabbed a bowl of river stones off her coffee table and tossed the contents on the floor. Cameron watched as he limped over and was grateful when she vomited into the bowl he held rather than on her floor.

"Thanks." She grunted, wincing as he set the bowl of vomit on her table.

"Get up. You're getting a fever, you need to be in bed." He told her, offering a hand as he braced himself with his cane.

Cameron took the offered hand and walked solemnly to the bathroom to brush her teeth. House heard her vomit again and then heard the faucet as she brushed her teeth. The woman looked miserable as she slowly walked to her room.

Grabbing the thermometer from Cameron's medicine cabinet, House went into her room and took her temperature. 101.2¡. Swiping her stethoscope from her lab coat pocket, he listened to her heartbeat as Kane eyed him apprehensively from her spot at the end of the bed.

"Congratulation, you have the flu." House announced, pulling the stethoscope from his ears. "I recommend bedrest, lots of fluids and General Hospital reruns"

Cameron stared off at the wall as House left her room. She heard a door slam and she sighed. "Finally got him here, Kane, and I'm too sick to try anything." She groaned.

Surprise was written all over Allison Cameron's face when House reappeared with an empty glass in his hand and a bottle of water in his coat pocket. He set the glass on her night stand, filled it with water, plunked a straw in it and fished around his other pocket.

"Vitamin C, and anti-microbials." He told her as he handed her a few pills. House pulled a bag of salteen crackers out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Cameron felt guilty as she saw House hobble out of the room, only to return with a desk chair, which fortunately had wheels, stacked with books and magazines.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled as he plopped the reading material on her night stand, sat down, and propped his feet upon her bed.

"Why?" House flipped back to where he'd left off in "Animal Farm.

"I know it's not easy to move stuff around my apartment." She said softly, drifting back towards sleep. "Thank you"

House brushed off her apology and gratitude and went about reading. Cameron drifted back to sleep and House finished another two books, checking her temperature every half hour. When she awoke again she was at a solid 100¡, ate a few crackers, went to the bathroom, threw up said crackers, took more of her immune system cocktail, water, and fell back asleep.

Nibbling on the crackers he'd brought her, House continued reading 1984, feeling like he was on a George Orwell kick. He checked her temperature again and she was down to 99.5¡. He was grateful that her body already seemed to have the necessary antibodies to beat the flu out quickly. She probably only caught it because of sleep deprivation and lack of nutrients. She'd be ihungryi when she woke up next time. She would also be pissed off if he didn't do something about the bowl he'd let her throw up in. Standing up he went to throw it out, she could buy a new one for her river stones.

Kane jumped off the bed when House came back into the room and scratched at the bedroom door he'd just closed, signaling she needed to go out.

"I can't walk you." House grunted sitting down once more. "I could install a catheter though." He grinned darkly.

Kane whimpered, her tail curling between her legs. House laughed.

"Threatening my dog? Now that's ilowi." Allison sighed, sitting up. HOuse took her temperature and she was at 99.1.

"How are you feeling?" He asked standing up and throwing his magazine on the table.

"Better, but I'm starving!" She lamented.

"Well let's walk that beast of yours and go out for some food." House began limping towards the door.

"Really?" "Really what?" House looked at her.

Cameron flushed. "You're sticking around?" She asked.

House shrugged. "Figured I should at least get a free dinner out of this." Cameron laughed. "Besides, we came here in your car, and I still don't trust you to drive until you've eaten"

"Fair." She agreed getting out of bed.

After Kane was walked, the two of them went to a Chinese restaurant that was halfway between their homes.

House watched his only female subordinate eat her chicken friend rice, barely touching his own rice noodles. Ever since the previous week, when he'd seen her in that sleeveless red gown he couldn't look at her without feeling compelled to stare. That, or throw her against a wall and kiss the medical terminology out of her.

That would take a lot of kissing. He thought menacingly. Suddenly he felt hot, uncharacteristically so, and it wasn't hot and bothered hot, it was I'm-Gonna-Pass-Out hot!

"House?" Cameron noted his flushing face. "Are you okay?" She asked, reaching across the small table and pressing the back of her hand to his forehead.

Her hand felt cold. His head felt hot.

"Oh, no! I think I bugged you!"

A/N- Hope you enjoyed, it's been a long time since I've written so review, make me feel all gooey inside :D. P.S. This chapter is brought to you by the song "Signs" by Five Man Electrical Band, which I listened to almost the entire time I was typing this...Wow, I'm a loser :D. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: House and all of its characters were not created and are not owned by me.

Little note before starting: A good question was asked in a review, "Do German Shepherds really come in Red and White. The answer no. However, if German Shepherds are bred with another dog it could happen, more likely than not if the bitch or sire of the pup in question were a white German Shepherd (which is possible) and breeds with a ...oh I don't know, some dog that comes in red, then yes you can get a Red and White German Shepherd, though it is now a mixed breed, so you CANNOT have a purebred red and white German Shepherd. I would now like to take this moment to say in my own defense that Kane was never said to be a pure bred, I only refer to her as a German Shepherd because it has dominant features of a GS. That is all. And please feel free to ask questions along the way, I enjoy answering... Oh, and P.S. Thank you to dama-de-tinieblas for telling me about anti-microbials (I was channeling my brother and my hypochondria because we both load ourselves on Vit. C and anti-microbials and what have you whenever we get sick, just because we tend to get sinus infections anytime we are sick, so... yeah, force of habit. Anyway, enough about me! Back to the story!!!!!!!!

Chapter Two: Beginning of a Bad Idea

"All right." Cameron took the thermometer from House's mouth and looked at it. "100.2, well let's see if you can beat it as fast as me."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you, Saint Cameron of the helpless?" House grunted, pulling the comforter of his bedding to his chin and glaring at her over the top of the blanket.

She rolled her eyes and held out a pill container top filled with a few pills. "Vitamin C and Vicodin." She announced plunking a glass of water on his night stand.

House took the pills and swallowed them with the water. "What about your mutt?"

"She'll be fine. Colin will take care of her for me." Cameron told him, pulling up a chair and reading the Medical Journal as she propped her feet up on his bed like he had at her home.

"Who's Colin? Your boyfriend?" House leered at her.

"No, just my friend."

"Are you sure?"

"He's gay, so yeah, I'm pretty sure." Cameron rolled her eyes and went back to reading.

"Are-"

"Go to sleep!" She snapped, rolling the magazine up and smacking him over the head with it. "If you don't like it then go to sleep." She groaned, rolling her head back in feigned distress.

House quirked an eyebrow, "Why? So you can snoop around my flat while I'm unconscious?" He asked suspiciously.

"I don't need to, I know what I'd find."

"What would you find?" He quizzed.

"Sheet music, take-out menues, medical books, porn and the numbers for hookers."

"You've been here before!" He accused in mock surprise.

Cameron laughed, "You need to sleep or you won't be better for work tomorrow." Her eyes narrowed, "Or was that your plan all along?"

"Oh, you are good!"

Jaw dropping, Cameron gawked in disbelief, "You only took care of me so you could catch what I have and get out of work!?"

"No, I really did think it was sleep deprivation and low blood sugar."

"Then why'd you drive me home?" She pressed.

"I'm going to sleep." He muttered.

In a huff, Cameron smacked him with the magazine again, "So you'll stay awake when you get to ask the questions?"

"... Yeah, pretty much."

"You're such a two year old."

"Can I have my teddy bear?"

"Go to sleep."

House woke up around midnight feeling chilled. He wanted to check his temperature, but fear of the coldness that waited for his venturous hand once it penetrated the insulating wall of the blanket kept him from reaching for the thermometer. His teeth chattered. He looked at Cameron, who had fallen asleep in the desk chair at some point, her head hanging over the back of the chair, arms dangling off the sides, feet on the bed, and a book that had slipped from her sleep slackened fingers now rested on the floor.

"Allison." House chattered. Slowly she woke up.

Rubbing her eyes, Cameron sat up, rolling her neck in discomfort as she slowly became aware once more of her surroundings. "What?" She asked groggily.

"I'm cold." He shivered.

Cameron yawned and took the thermometer from the night stand and checked his temperature. When it beeped she read it. "102.8." She sighed, getting more Vitamin C and water. She warmed the water a little bit before putting the pill in his mouth, for he refused to lose any blanket warmth.

"I'm fucking freezing." He groaned. Cameron didn't say anything as she walked to the foot of the bed. It was dark and all he heard was fabric rustling as a slight breeze hit him and he shook uncontrollably. Soon, Cameron was lying in bed next to him under the covers. She wrapped her arms around him, his own arms pinned between their bodies, his shivers soon subsided.

"Better?" She asked.

House nodded, burrowing his face between her neck and shoulder for additional warmth. Soon her own heat kept him completely warm and he fell back asleep.

House awoke, still snuggled against his female duckling. She was awake as well, gazing at him with her hooded eyes, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Good morning." She murmured in a soft voice that made his heart pound.

House didn't say anything, instead he pressed his lips to hers, hands wandering. Cameron wrapped her arms around his neck, moaning as his hands grabbed her ass, pushing her against his growing erection.

"Please, make love to me..." She moaned.

House's eyes snapped open. It was morning and Cameron was still lying in bed with him.

A dream, just a dream! He told himself as he observed the environment around him.

First thing he came to find was that during sleep, he and Cameron had moved around, and now she had her back pressed to his chest as his arms encircled her.

Next, the thought registered that he had just dreamt about Cameron in a very not work appropriate way. He also realized that the entire dream hadn't been a dream. He currently had the hardest morning wood he could ever remember, and it was pressing insistently against Cameron's jean clad ass.

"Shit..." House groaned, getting out of bed and trying to sneak his way to the bathroom with a bum leg and a painful hard on.

Cameron woke up when the bathroom door's sharp snap rang in her ears. She was disappointed that House wasn't beside her as she woke up, but she knew he was probably still a little sick, and just wanted to shower. Besides, why should he have stayed by her side? It's not like they'd had sex and shared a moment of intimacy. No, she'd just offered him additional body heat when his temperature had spiked, leaving him shivering and miserable.

Sighing in defeat, Cameron walked to House's kitchen to make some breakfast.

House let his head hang as cold water streamed down the back of his neck. Dreaming of Cameron had left his mind reeling, but waking up and feeling the pang he'd felt when realization struck was even more so. Sure, he never denied that Dr. Allison Cameron was gorgeous, but that didn't mean he'd want to make love to her. Sex sure! He was only a man, and he knew it would be a lie to say that sex with her didn't sound gratifying. But make love? His head hurt and his leg was throbbing, he could think about all of this later.

Limping into his bedroom, House was grateful to see that Cameron was up and about. After dressing quickly, he then went into his living room to find her reading his newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee.

"Morning." She called, not looking up from the paper.

House grunted in response.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, readin the last line of the column and folding up the paper to look at him.

"Shitty."

"Is that a new medical term?" She asked, tossing the paper on the coffee table.

"Yes, now define it." He poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I made you some eggs." She stood up and walked to his kitchen counter.

"... I had eggs in my fridge?" He opened the refrigerator door and sure enough- EGGS!- in a carton even!

Cameron laughed, "Feel like going in to work today?" She asked, popping the thermometer in his mouth before he could get a sip of coffee in.

"Not particularly." He mumbled around the hard plastic between his teeth.

It beeped and Cameron glanced at it. "99.6." She announced. "I'll call Cuddy for you." Opening her cell phone, Allison noted the battery was running low. She hit speed dial 3 and Cuddy picked up on the second ring. "Hi, Dr. Cuddy, it's Dr. Cameron... Yes, I'm feeling much better... Thank you... Um, Dr. House seems to have caught my bug though... Well, unless he can fake a 102 fever, I'd say, yeah, he's pretty sick... Okay, thank you." She hung up.

"How is 99.6 equal to 102?" House asked, smirking at her over his cup of coffee.

"Well, you hit 102.8 last night." She reminded him with a shrug. "Besides, your temp. is still up."

"So, are you going in?" House asked.

Cameron shook her head. "No, Cuddy told me to take care of you."

House scoffed, "Where's my Vicodin?" She tossed him his pills and he caught them with his cane free hand. "Thanks." He popped two and plopped onto his couch. "So, you're here to play Doctor with me?"

"Apparently."

"Wanna play naughty nurse instead?" He asked with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

"Maybe later." She jested back.

Doubling over in laughter, Allison Cameron nearly spat out the Chinese food she'd been eating on House's couch. "I should have known!" She wheezed, tears shining in her eyes as she continued to giggle breathlessly. "But considering I'd been fired, how could I know?"

"You weren't fired, you quit big difference." House took a monster bit of chow mein. "I had actually chosen to fire Chase."

"When Volglar left would y;ou have tried to get him back like you did with me?" She asked, waiting with baited breath.

House quirked an eyebrow, "I wouldn't have agreed to go on a date with him."

She giggled, resting her head on his shoulder in exhausted amusement, "We need to get each other sick more often." She sighed contentedly.

"Hey," he swatted the top of her head with a chopstick, "when did I say you could sleep on me?"

"I think I heard you mumble it last night when you were shivering like a baby." She quipped, letting her eyes shut as she yawned wide.

"I was delirious."

"Uh huh."

"Shut up." House took another bite of food.

"You know, your fever's gone. I could call Cuddy and tell her you're fine to go back into work." She pointed out.

House smirked at her, a noodle dangling from between his lips, "I have taught you so well!"

Watching General Hospital, House noted that Allison had fallen asleep, head resting on his shoulder. He sighed, her expression was soft, like it had been in his dream. But he didn't want to think about his dream. He'd be lying if he said he had no want to sleep with her, but now he was wondering if it would be a lie to say he didn't want to make love to her.

He could imagine her back arching painfully as she came in his arms. Muscles tensing and squeezing the life out of him as she went over the edge. Whispering secrests about the feelings he'd never admit to her once she was awake, only daring to say them in the darkness as she slept, the words dissolving into her dreams where they could not be consciously recognized.

"Shit." House sighed. "You had to go and think about it..." He grumbled a little to himself.

Cameron snuggled closer against him, sighing gently in her sleep.

"I do believe today is the beginning of the start of a really bad idea." House murmured quietly to himself as his arms wrapped around Cameron's sleeping form and he let his own head drop against hers.

TBC

A/N: Please review !!!!!!!! I love them with all my heart and soul, and in all honesty, my readers give me a lot of good ideas and motivations oO


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: I lack ownership of House and it's characters... -sigh-

Chapter Three: Confusion

With a groan, Allison stretched out, awakening to feel soreness running down her neck and into her lower back. It was dark outside, and the only clue to time was the Tv which was now playing episodes of a show she'd never seen before. Stretching slightly, she jumped when her hand collided with the body of the person sleeping next to her on the couch.

"Ow! Damnit!" House yelped after getting a hit to the face. "What's going on?" He yawned.

"We fell asleep." Allison replied, standing up and bending to touch her toes to try and ease the aching in her spine. "I need to get home so I can walk Kane one more time and change and..." She trailed off, too tired to figure out what else she needed to do.

House nodded, her excuse accepted in his mind, "Are you going to pick me up in the morning?" He asked, remembering his bike was still parked at the PPTH.

"Sure, 8 okay?" She asked, still yawning.

"Are you okay to drive?" He asked, brow furrowing in what she assumed was concern, though she couldn't place why.

"Yeah." She nodded, "Why?"

House shrugged and turned off the Tv, leaving them in darkness that was only penetrated by the lamplight that shown outside his window. He could just make out her silhouette as she searched around blindly for her coat.

"Come on, let me drive you home." House sighed, picking up his cane and limping towards the kitchen counter to grab her coat off of the barstool.

Cameron sighed and admitted defeat, going to accept her coat, but slipping on a random magazine that had been lying on the floor. House caught her before she planted her face on the hardwood floor.

"Yes, we are _so_, alert enough to be driving right now." House couldn't contain the amused smirk as she re-established her posture and stood right next to him. Taking her free hand, he lead her to the front door. The elevator ride to the lower level was made in silence as House watched his female subordinate's head droop occasionally in drowsiness.

As they got in the car, House made his way to her home and noted with some amusement that she'd begun to fall asleep in the passenger's seat. Glancing at the bright green of her dash clock, he saw that it was 2:23 AM. Sighing in his own fatigue, House pulled into a parking space in front of Cameron's apartment building.

With a playful nudge, House woke up his coworker, who jumped in surprise, still dazed from her car nap. "We there?" She asked, alarmed at how quickly the ride passed.

"Yeah, you fell asleep." House told her. "Do you want me to take your car home with me and pick you up in the morning?" He asked.

Cameron nodded, "Unless... Do you want to spend the night?"

House bit his lip. With his current state of mind towards her, he wasn't sure if it was a good idea to spend the night. "I don't have anything to wear tomorrow." He pointed out.

"We can leave a little earlier and drop by your apartment so you can change." She yawned, getting out of the car.

Fatigue outweighing common sense, House agreed and the two made their way up to her apartment. Kane jumped up on Cameron, nearly knocking her over in her tired state.

"There's a note again." House pointed out, seeing the same scrap paper as the day before. "Says: "Ally, walked Kane at 10:30 PM and fed her, where are you? Call me!"- Colin." House read aloud. "Seems that Kane is more his dog than yours."

"Shut up and lets go to sleep." Cameron groaned, walking towards the bedroom and unhooking her bra from underneath her shirt, taking it off and throwing it across her bedroom, all in plain view of House.

"Do you want me to sleep on the couch?" House called after her, popping a couple Vicodin dry.

"No, you can sleep in here." She called back, hearing his cane thumping down the hall.

She was already under the covers, hair spilling over the pillows as she curled up on one side of the bed. House leaned his cane against the wall next to the bed and took off his shirt. After taking off his shoes he eased underneath the covers as well and curled up on the other side, a large void between them, which Kane opportunistically jumped into, her back pressing against Cameron's.

"Is your alarm set?" House asked.

"Yeah." Cameron responded in a soft yawn. "Night." She murmured.

"Night."

House awoke to find Kane glaring at him from the floor, and Cameron's arm draped around his waist, her chest pressed against his back. With a deep breath, he willed his nerves to stay calm. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was 6:30. What had woken him up? Cameron's alarm had yet to go off... That's when he saw his cane lying flat on the floor, having been knocked over, probably by Kane.

After disentangling himself from Cameron's arms, House picked up his cane and limped to her bathroom. He grabbed a fresh towel on his way and took a shower. When he emerged, towel wrapped around his waist, Cameron was there staring at him. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing, just waiting for shower privileges." She sighed, weaving past him. "Can you feed Kane while I shower?" She asked.

"Do you ever take care of your own dog?" House replied, slightly agitated. She glared at him, "Fine, I'll feed your damn dog." He grumbled, pulling his jeans on over his hips and went to feed the dog.

Kane jumped around the kitchen as House filled her food and water bowl. "Come on bitch, come and get it." When she snapped at him he rolled his eyes. "Fine, come here little lady and enjoy a yummy meal." House awkwardly sat down on the floor. Kane trotted over and began to eat, looking at him out of the corner of her eye as she ate. When she finished eating, she went to him and rested her head on his good leg. House was intrigued by this, because his bad leg was much more accessible for her to rest on. Curiosity had him wondering if she knew which leg was his bad one as he began to gently stroke her head and ears.

"Aww, am I interrupting a moment?" Cameron was standing in front of them, her still damp hair pulled into a tight bun, looking the exact opposite of a woman who'd just showered, dressed, and applied a modest amount of make-up in less than 20 minutes.

"Wow, that was quick." House managed to stand up from the floor with minimal difficulty. "I didn't know women could get ready that quickly." He expressed his astonishment.

Cameron laughed. "Well, let me walk Kane really quick and then we can go to your apartment and you can change."

House nodded and limped to her bedroom to grab his shirt before making a beeline for the door. Luckily, Kane got her business over and done with quickly so they managed to get to House's apartment at a quarter after eight.

As quickly as he could, House went up to his apartment, put on some deodorant, brushed his teeth, changed his clothes, grabbed a piece of white paper and red marker, and went back down to the parking lot. Cameron jumped when he got back in the car, but said nothing as she pulled into the street.

Out of the corner of her eye Cameron could see House tearing, folding, and marking on a piece of paper with a red marker. "What are you doing?" She asked, trying to concentrate on the road and not what he was doing in the passenger's seat.

"You'll see when we get to the hospital." House laughed.

Pulling up to the parking space next to House's bike, Cameron turned off her car and looked at him. "Okay, we're here, what were you doing?" She asked again.

House grinned like an evil kitten and said nothing as he showed her the piece of paper he'd folded into a nurse's cap, complete with a red cross on the front.

"You have got to be kidding me." Cameron rolled her eyes, and then fumed as he plopped it on her head.

"Well, I was thinking about giving you white stockings and garters, but I thought it was a little too extreme for work." He deadpanned. When she went to remove it, House halted her action and with big fake puppy dog eyes said, "Just leave it on for a little bit."

Cameron sighed in defeat, leaving the origami nurse's cap on her head as she walked along side him into the building. She groaned at the amount of confused looks she got from the staff in the lobby all the way to the elevator. "I hate you." She grunted as House struck the call button with his cane and the two of them waited for the elevator to arrive.

House just laughed and let the trip up to their floor be made in silence.

When they arrived in the Diagnostics Department she grabbed House's mail off of his desk, started a pot of coffe, and sorted his letters at her table. House sat in his office and played his Gameboy Advanced.

Soon Foreman and Chase arrived, giving their female colleague a strange look.

"What!?" She snapped at their odd looks.

"What's with the hat?" Chase asked, jumping at her flared temper.

Remembering that her impromptu nurse's cap was still resting on her head, Cameron knocked it off her, "Nothing, just a stupid joke of House's." She said, picking up the hat and putting it in her purse. She knew it was stupid sentiments that made her keep it, but House had given it to her and she couldn't throw out anything that she received from him.

"Any new case?" Foreman asked.

"No." Cameron didn't look up from the mail.

"It's almost been a week!" Chase whined, throwing his head back as he slouched in a chair across from Cameron.

"Then go to the clinic if you're so bored." Cameron responded, still not looking up.

"But-"

"Then shut up." She threw in.

House limped in and went to the coffee maker. He poured coffee into his red mug and some into a plain black one. Picking up the mugs, he carried them expertly in one hand without spilling a drop. As he passed the table that Cameron, Chase and Foreman were at, he set the black mug in front of Cameron, then disappeared back into his office.

"What was that about?" Chase stared at House through the glass wall.

"Probably a 'Thank You' for getting him out of work two days in a row." Cameron sighed, trying not to look too deeply into his actions, though a giddy warmth began to pool in her stomach despite her will to ignore the possibilities.

"House?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Liar. What?"

"... What are you doing?" Wilson asked, seeing his friend sitting on the ledge of their linked balconies, feet dangling over the edge.

"Thinking."

"About?" Wilson set down his coffee cup, threw his leg over the edge and sat beside his friend.

"Someone."

"Ah... Would this someone be a certain female immunologist?"

House glared at his friend, "I hate you."

"Well, if you were thinking about Stacy you'd be on the roof... If you were thinking about me you'd be in my office annoying me, really only leaves Cameron." Wilson shrugged.

"Or Cuddy's fun bags."

"Yeah, but you don't need to come out here to think about those. This balcony serves two purposes for you: Breaking into my office and thinking about Ally."

"Ally?" House quirked a suspicious eyebrow at her. "When did you start calling her Ally?" House glared at his friend.

Wilson rolled his eyes, "Since her HIV test was coming up. She needed someone to cry to, and you weren't really available."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"House, she thought she had a horrible disease, and you're not very..._gentile_." The oncologist explained.

"What'd she talk to you about?"

"I can't tell you..."

"Does she have cancer?"

"NO!"

"Then she isn't your patient so she has no doctor/patient confidentiality, now spill. What did she say to you?"

"How she was scared-"

"Know that much, fast forward to something I don't know that I would _really_ be interested in." House twirled his hand for emphasis.

"Something she said that you would actually care about... Hmm... Oh! Chase is _horrible_ in bed and ummm..."

"That 'umm' sounds really intriguing!" House grinned. "That 'umm' is something I really want to know!"

Wilson flushed, "She said she had to think of you to keep from pushing Chase off of her."

House's jaw clenched momentarily, and Wilson became slightly nervous. That was a look he didn't see offen on his friends face, a mixture of three other expressions. Anyone by themselves was safe, but when all three got together for a party, it only meant something very strange was about to happen. The three expressions: Surprise, Scheming, and Complete and Utter Confusion.

Glancing through the windows, House saw that Cameron was once again alone sorting his mail, Chase and Foreman having left in search of a case. "I'll talk to you later." House mutterred as he spun around to stand on the balcony once again. Grabbing his cane, House entered his office and paged Cameron.

He saw her look at her beeper, look at him, glare, and stand up to enter his office, "What?" She snapped in annoyance, standing right in front of him.

House said nothing, merely closed the distance between them and wrapped his arm around her waist. Her eyes widened in surprise, lips parting ever so slightly as his mouth hovered just above her lips. She shut her eyes, fearful that he would either pull away laughing or that she were about to wake up and find that she was dreaming once again. However, what actually _did_ happen was not what she'd expected.

Pushing her away, House shook his head and limped back to his desk. Cameron's eyes snapped open at the loss of contact. "Leave." He said, sitting at his desk and putting his forehead in his palms. She remained rooted in place. "I said GET OUT!" He hollered at her. Cameron jumped and ran out of his office. Standing up, House drew the blinds so she wouldn't be able to look at him, and he wouldn't have to see her looking at him in hurt and confusion.

"Okay." He said to himself, beginning to pace. "I'm an idiot, a complete and utter idiot... I shouldn't have yelled. Shit..." House threw his cane across his office, watching it hit a filing cabinet with a bang and clatter to the floor in a mockery of his miserable state. He popped three Vicodins, swallowed them dry, sat down at his desk and let his head smack the desk top with a crude 'THUD'. "I'm an idiot... She's almost half my age and I'm... What the hell am I doing?" He asked himself, lifting his head off the desk, feeling a pained heat radiating around where he'd struck his head. "She doesn't want to be with me. She doesn't know what she wants! She's young, confused..." He reasoned. "And I'm stupid."

A knock came at his office door. "What!?" He shouted.

Cameron stood on the other side of the door. She was confused, but she knew one thing for sure: House had wanted to kiss her. She wasn't sure what had stopped him, but he had _wanted_ to kiss her!

"I've got a case." Foreman announced, stepping into House's office and ignoring his boss's mood and random yelling. "25 year old female."

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: No ownership had of House or its characters...

A/N: Before we start I would just like to give a shout out to darklady26- Don't stop long reviews! I live and thrive on reviews, and the longer ones are even better! I love knowing how people feel about how I write the characters. Aside from LOVING the show, I also chose this show to write fics for because I felt that writing for some of the characters would be challenging, and I secretly enjoy a challenge ;) So it's nice to know when and if I'm doing a good job on it! Also, thanks to everyone who's reviewed thus far, I appreciate any kind of review, whether it be a hail to my writing or constructive criticism. Thank you -Andi.

Chapter Four: 1:2 Ratio

Nervous glances passed from eye to eye as House and his three subordinates tried to figure out what was killing an otherwise healthy 25 year old woman. He felt awkward trying to carry on his usual volley of possible diagnoses when he'd almost kissed one of his three co-workers and then yelled at said co-worker for his own stupidity.

She had yet to make eye contact with him, every time he glanced her direction, she would shy her eyes away, causing a pang in his chest he didn't want to admit. Every few minutes he had to remind himself that it was for her own good, that he wasn't, for once, trying to be an ass, but trying to protect her like he hadn't protected others. He was older, he knew better, that was the mantra he ran through his brain.

"She's a massage therapist... Does she mix her own oils?" Cameron threw in.

Chase and Foreman looked at her, "What does that have to do with anything?" Chase asked.

"If she's mixing her own oils, constant contact with the uncut essential oil could cause toxicity through skin absorption. Ask her the brand name of the oil company. If she's using a resin that was chemically extracted that could cause her symptoms. Get a toxicology report, it will stand out like a sore thumb if it's there." House ordered Chase, pointing towards the door.

The Aussie stood up with a groan and walked out of the department to draw blood from their patient. Foreman remained at the table, looking bored. The case had looked intriguing at first glance, and they probably would have been running with it all day if Cameron hadn't noticed the patient's occupation. Now he felt stupid for not noticing it earlier.

With a sigh, Foreman got up and left to go to the lab, leaving House and Cameron in an awkward position. No one else in the room, the two just looked around, anywhere but at each other.

"I'm going to grab lunch." Cameron said finally, still not looking at him as she got up and left the room, an uncertainty of herself wavering her usual presence. House just nodded and listened to her walk away.

"It's for the best." He told himself once again as the door closed behind Cameron's retreating form. With that, Dr. Gregory House limped out to the balcony, perching on the edge of the rail to stare out at the city.

"Back again?"

House craned his neck over to see Wilson stepping out of his office. He just turned his head back to the skyline and said out loud, "I fucked up."

"What else is new?" Wilson reclaimed his seat beside House on the wall. "You fuck up everything good in your life." He pointed out. "You're self-destructive."

"Thank you Dr. Phil." House leered at him.

"So, what did you do this time?" Wilson sighed.

House didn't say anything for a minute then admitted, "I almost kissed Cameron."

"Almost?"

"I changed my mind and pushed her away..."

"And then?"

"I yelled at her to get out of my office."

"You need a psychiatrist."

"Why pay for a psychiatrist when I know you'll listen to anything I say due to your undying need to meddle in everyone's business and fix everything?" House shrugged.

Wilson sighed in defeat, "So... Why did you yell at her?"

House applauded himself for getting his free psychiatric evaluation back on task, "Because I realized she's nearly half my age."

"You're an idiot."

"I know."

House spent the rest of the day trying to figure out a way to take back what he'd done in his office, but Cameron seemed to have developed an inability to walk alone long enough for him to speak to her. Every time they passed in the hallways or ran into each other in the lab, someone was with her. Foreman, Chase, a random nurse he had no clue if he even knew...

He sighed.

What was he suppose to expect? He'd lead her on, nearly submitted to her the one thing he knew she desperately wanted, even though she'd become a little better about not portraying it so openly, and then he'd crushed all hope. Even if he tried to make a move again it was no use. He'd wasted his opportunity, and until a new one presented itself, he'd have to suffer in silence.

"I hate drama." House muttered to himself, an excruciating pain shooting up his leg, leading him to pop a few Vicodin in his mouth as he limped towards his office.

Cameron ran down the hall in search of House. She was getting frustrated that every single time she managed to run into him, someone was hanging around her like a weight around her neck. Needing to talk to him, she headed towards his office, but when she got there, Cuddy was yelling at him again about clinic duty, and she was once again left to try and find a better time to speak with him.

There was still a large uncertainty weighing her down as to why he'd suddenly flipped out on her in the office. He'd been so close to kissing her, but something had happened. One minute he was all ready to go! And then the next wooosh! Goodbye House, hello crazy House impersonator. Usually when he did a flip flop like that it was because either his leg was hurting or he was in the clinic.

Continuing to dwell on the subject, Cameron went to the only person she knew could interpret the unorthodox workings of House.

"Dr. Wilson?" Cameron poked her head into the oncologist's office. "Can I talk to you?" She asked, stepping a foot in the door nervously.

Wilson looked up, saw her face and then looked back down at his papers. "He likes you a lot, he's beating himself up over the PMS worthy mood swing he had earlier. It was brought upon by his self-destructive behavior and realization of your age differences." Wilson said all of this without looking up.

"Thanks."

Wilson looked up finally and grinned to himself. As House had said earlier when pushing for Cameron information, he was neither of their doctors and therefore, under no obligation to extend doctor/patient confidentiality.

Chuckling just a slight bit on the side of maniacally, James Wilson began to ponder what route of retaliation that Allison would go.

House limped to his motorcycle, he saw that Cameron's car was still parked next to his bike, a sign that she was still lurking around the hospital. He sighed. She was probably petrified to even approach him now, let alone risk running into him in a dark parking lot.

Back turned to Cameron's car, House clipped his cane into the holster but paused. Someone was behind him. Whirling around he was face to face with Allison Cameron.

She said nothing, merely wrapped her arms around his neck and smashed her mouth to his. He groaned, she sighed. Pushing her back against her car, House let his hands trail down her spine to cup her ass. She emitted the tiniest whimper, raising her right leg to wrap around his hip. Slowly she circled her hips, grinding against him needfully.

"Greg..." She moaned, lips tearing from his for air.

House pulled away. "Cameron, you-"

"For every reason you come up with saying this is wrong, I can come up with two saying it's right." She cut him off, pulling him tightly to her body as she kissed him once more. He kissed her back fiercely.

He didn't stop when she went for air once again, instead he attached his mouth to her neck, pulling the collar of her shirt aside to hide any mark he may leave. She keened gently, her hips rotating hard against his and gasping when he bucked up against her. "Take me home with you?" Allison begged, her hand cradling his head to her throat. House nodded, pulling away and taking her hand as he awkwardly mounted his bike. Allison sidled up behind him, her arms wrapping tightly around his body.

TBC

A/N: Sorry, this chapter was a little on the short side! Next chapter will be longer -Hint, hint. Wink Wink-.

P.S- As you can see I have a slight obsession with Author's notes..Sorry- But hey, if you don't care to read them, they're labeled so you can avoid reading anything with A/N stamped in front of it... However, if you ever ask a question in a review, you may want to read the Author's notes because I am notorious for actually REPLYING to questions in my A/Ns. Yay (empty cheer).-Andi


	5. Chapter 5

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: I own nothing... STOP MAKING ME SAY THAT!! IT MAKES ME SAD FACED:'(

Chapter Five: Where are We Going To?

House parked his bike in front of his apartment building and grabbed his cane from the holster. Allison was holding his free hand as they quickly made it to the elevator.

The late hour guaranteed them a private ascending trip to his flat, where House's hands wandered over her body, anxious to see the flesh he'd constantly pictured in his head. Every so often a curious hand would slip beneath her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her stomach. As his hands travelled her clothed body, hers would weave between the hairs on the back of his head, gripping it gently as she kept his mouth from drifting to far from her own lips.

Making it from the elevator into the hallway to his flat was no easy journey. Interludes interrupted their progress as one would press the other against the wall to let hands and lips drift across the other's body. Anticipation and impatience deterred them as scorching kisses licked flames across already heated flesh and more kisses were stolen before they made it halfway to the door of his apartment, panting for breath.

An older female neighbor poked her head out of her door to discover the mystery behind the thudding sound that pounded against the walls outside her apartment. When she saw her anti-social neighbor bumbling down the hallway at 12:30 in the morning with a very attractive young woman, she just shook her hair curler covered head in annoyance and slipped back into her own apartment.

Finally reaching the threshold of their destination, House unlocked the door and ushered her inside. Locking the front door behind him, he returned once more to Allison's lips, fingers finally attaching themselves to the buttons of the blouse he really just wanted to tear off of her in his hurry. Lips trailing down her throat, kissing the newly exposed flesh as each button released, House hurriedly undid the last buttons, pulled the blouse from her body and flung it to the floor.

Allison's own hands were undoing the few buttons he'd actually clasped and pulled it off before tugging at the hem of the t-shirt he wore beneath it. She kicked off her shoes as House kissed the tops of her breasts, nipping and suckling them while his hands undid her pants, letting them pool on the floor.

Backing her into the kitchen counter, his hands cupped her bottom, and putting all his weight onto his good leg, lifted her onto the table top.

Allison was almost shocked at this show of strength, but the thought was thrown from her mind as he began nibbling and licking the inside of her thighs.

"Greg!" She gasped as he pulled her underwear down and flung them across the room. She choked once more on his name as his hands ran along the insides of her thighs then to the outsides to pull her closer to the edge of the counter top. Hips rolling in anticipation, she let her head lull over the edge of the counter, back arching in impatience. "Please!" Allison whimpered.

Without a word, House slipped a finger into her already slick channel. He had to bite back a groan at the feeling of her surrounding the single digit, turned on by how wet she was for him. Curling his finger, he hooked it on her hidden sweet spot as his thumb stimulated her clitoris.

Her hips bucked and rolled in time with his ministration, gasping for breath as her back arched off of the counter so her nether region would press harder against his hand. A sharp intake of breath emitted from her lips when his mouth and tongue replaced the work of his hands. A little nibble sent her over the edge with the softest cry of pleasure as she became a puddle of contented flesh on the counter.

House carefully helped her sit back up so she could slide off the counter, his hands drifting to the clasp of her bra, releasing it. Allison groaned as his mouth attached to the newly exposed flesh, suckling a budded nipple as his hand gave the other a firm squeeze.

"Are you on birth control?" House asked, his eyes glancing towards hers to see the realization pass through them. "Forget our daily medications today, did we?" He teased, letting his hands fall to her hips as he placed gentle kisses along her neck.

"I'm sorry!" She squeaked. Though she was very good about taking her pill, between getting sick and then taking care of House when he became ill as well, she just realized it had been three days since she'd taken the birth control pill.

House smiled gently, "Don't worry, I'm always prepared to get lucky." He smirked, limping towards the bedroom. He stopped, turned to face her and asked, "Are you coming?"

Smirking back at him, Allison walked to him, a shimmy in her hips, "Already have, but I wouldn't mind coming again." She said in a sultry whisper as she passed him, taking his hand and leading him into the bedroom.

House flung her onto his bed and crawled over her body, stopping to nibble here and there as his hand inched towards the night stand. When he'd successfully retrieved a condom, Allison rolled him on his back so she was straddling his waist.

Plucking the condom from between his fingers, she crawled down between his legs, removing his shoes, socks, pants and boxers. Rising from the floor, her hands trailed a path from his knees to his thighs before gripping his shaft. House hissed in pleasure, her grip a fine borderline between ecstasy and pain. He groaned as her hand slid along his member and she placed butterfly kisses along the insides of his thighs until he was at his hardest. Grinning, she opened the condom wrapper and rolled the prophylactic onto his erection. The only thing House could think about as he watched her do this was how sexy she made safe sex look!

With another heady groan, House took control once again, taking hold of her hips and rolling back on top of her. She squealed excitedly, a surprised laugh emitting from her lips before he covered them with his mouth and slid into her. He swallowed her pleasured moan as he paused momentarily to savor the sensations.

Allison wrapped her legs over his hips, helping him push harder. She moaned and arched as he took her knees into his elbows and pushed deeper. Her hands gently raked across his back until she came with a hoarse cry, nails scraping deeply into his shoulders.

Panting, House ignored the pain building in his leg, instead, he buried his face into her neck and began nibbling, sucking and licking as his right hand twirled around between her thighs. Allison cried out again, only this time, House's own moan twined with hers.

Tired, sweating, and spent, they collapsed onto the bed, House's idle hands trailing over her body. She curled up beside him, head pillowing on his shoulder as she watched him peal off the condom and toss it towards a nearby garbage can.

"That was wonderful." She yawned, exhausted from their activities.

"Mmhm... I'll wake you up in an hour or so, when I'm ready to go again." He whispered in her ear, giving the cartilage a slight nibble.

Allison laughed, thinking he was kidding. Oh, if only she knew...

Upon awakening, Allison Cameron noted three things. 1.) Last night had **NOT** been a dream. 2.) She was so sore she could hardly move, and 3.) House was gazing at her in complete wonder.

"Good afternoon." He murmured as her eyes blinked open and he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"Good... afternoon?" She repeated in confusion, "Afternoon!?" She sat up in fear that she'd slept through work, but regretted it when she felt the dull ache in her abdominal muscles.

"Allison, it's Saturday, we're on call not on duty." He reminded her, snuggling up against her body lazily. "Besides, do you think I would have a sleep over on a _schoolnight_?" He teased, palming her breast as he planted a series of soft kisses on her throat.

A tiny moan issued from her lips as he pinched her nipple, following it with a tender nip on her throat. "I can hardly move... How many rounds did we go last night?" She groaned, disgusted with her use of a sports metaphor; apparently she'd been spending too much time with the guys.

House saw her brow furrow in realization that she'd used a sports metaphor and chuckled gently before glancing over his shoulders. "Judging by the condoms that _missed_ the garbage can... At least four times."

"Mmm, my body says more than four." She judged by the soreness.

"Well, a couple might have made it into the trash." He shrugged, "So, here's what I was thinking: bath for two, take you back to your flat for clothes and Kane, then a big dinner followed by General Hospital and more sex."

"Sounds like a day." She grinned, hugging him. She watched him grab his bottle of Vicodin off of the night stand, pop it open, take two and swallow them dry before standing up to limp to the bathroom.

Hearing the water start to run, Allison managed to force herself out of bed, wincing her way to the bathroom. House watched her enter the bathroom, observing her tentative steps, a sure sign that she'd been properly fucked. "Want a Vicodin?" He shook his pill bottle at her.

"No thanks." She laughed, getting close enough to him to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Ready to get wet?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her, nibbling on her throat. Allison noticed that he tended to aim for her neck regularly. As he nibbled and sucked on the tender flesh, Allison glanced over his shoulder into the mirror. Angry, red scrapes consumed most of the flesh of his upper back.

"I'm sorry." She murmured in a gasp.

"For?" He questioned from his place at her neck.

"Your back." Another sharp intake of breath.

House chuckled, "That bad, huh? I knew you'd left a mark, didn't think it would be that bad." His hands grasped her ass and turned her to lift her onto the sink. Hands leaving her momentarily, his mouth ducked to her breasts, circling a peaked nipple with his tongue, flicking it around as his hands spread her thighs and he drove into her.

"Uhn!" Allison cried out in surprise and pleasure, her head throwing back to collide with the mirror, "OW!"

"You okay?" House panted, not stopping or breaking his rhythm as he chuckled.

"Uh Huh!" She moaned in response as she brought her feet to the side of the sink, bracing her flat palms on the surface to rock against him harder. She rolled her hips enthusiastically, "H-harder!" She begged, panting and gripping the edge of the sink.

"Harder is why you can barely walk." House reminded her, panting.

"HARDER!" She cried her command, forcing her hips against his insistently. House complied, bracing her body to his own. "Please! Oh please, Oh, Greg!" She keened as he pumped harder. Her back arched painfully as she came, and House followed her over the edge.

Collapsing against him in exhaustion, Allison felt him shift his weight more onto his left. "You don't screw like you have a bad leg." She mumbled, leaning back from him and gently tilting her head back to rest against the mirror rather than smacking it.

"Is that a bad thing?" House quirked a questioning eyebrow, still catching his breath.

Allison shook her head. "Not at all." She grinned widely. "I think the bath's ready." Allison noted, glancing at the rapidly filling tub.

After their bath, which mostly consisted of House's hands wandering to places that she could easily wash herself, Allison made some snacks for them with the spartan amounts of food he had in his kitchen. "We're going to have to teach you what a grocery store is. I think just about everything you have in your kitchen can be found in a gas station." She told him as she set a couple of sandwiches on the coffee table.

"You've been stalking me haven't you? How did you know where I shop?" House narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, making her laugh.

"Well, this should be enough to tide us over until dinner." She pointed out, grabbing her sandwich and taking a bite.

"Do you want to go back to your place or mine after dinner?" House asked, grabbing his own sandwich.

Allison thought about Kane, and how much she'd been left alone lately, "Mine, Kane is probably taking a piss in my shoe for leaving her in Colin's care for the past week." She groaned.

House busted out laughing, imagining the german shepherd reeking havoc in Allison's apartment. "Sounds good." He grinned.

House sat next to Allison in a Chinese restaurant just down the street from her apartment. They had idol chit chat about work, but work turned into co-workers, and co-workers turned into, 'when do we tell our co-workers about us?'

"I just don't see the reason behind announcing anything." House shrugged, taking a bite of a sparerib. "I mean, it's our business."

Allison frowned slightly, not wanting to give up her own plight. "But, Greg, I don't want to sneak around the hospital and pretend nothing has changed... Are you ashamed to be with me? I know that you were apprehensive because of our age difference. Is that why you don't want to tell anyone?" Her eyes bore into his, and he could see that she was not going to let up.

"Wilson needs to keep his mouth shut." He looked down at his plate for a moment, "Allison, I'm not ashamed of you and yes, the age difference did bother me, but that's not what's keeping me from telling people."

"Then what is? Greg, these are our lives-"

"Allison," he smiled gently at her, "relax. This has nothing to do with anything as trivial as age. This has to do with keeping a professional working environment."

"Bullshit. Since when have you ever been professional at work? Everything you do defies a professional standing." Allison smirked at him.

"Caught me." House smirked as well. "Okay, I'll make a deal with you. We don't tell anyone, but we don't go about it like any other day. If people figure it out, they figure it out."

"Since when did you choose the middle ground over having things your own way?" She leaned onto the table.

"Since I decided to be less of an idiot."

"This is going to take a lot of work." She grinned.

"Oh, Dr. Cameron, if only you knew." House shook his head.

Arriving at Allison's apartment, House was surprised when Kane jumped around him excitedly. Last time he'd seen the mutt he'd threatened to intall her with a catheter, and yet, he returns and she's excited to see him!

"Your dog's insane." House pointed out, lifting his chin to avoid a slobbery tongue on his mouth, settling for a couple laps under his jaw.

"She'd have to be to like you that much." Allison laughed. "So, Tv?" She gestured to the living room. "Kane _down_!" Allison tapped the dog's nose and she immediately unpinned House from the front door.

"Neat trick." House limped to the couch, where Kane jumped up and curled against his left, leaving a space for Allison on his right side. The dog's head rested on his thigh as Cameron giggled and sat on his other side. She handed him the remote. "A risk taker I see. Handing off the remote in your own home."

"I don't watch Tv much, I have no clue what's on." Allison told him. "Figured you had more experience in night time entertainment." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ah, well on a Saturday night there are a few good channels with some movies playing. Actual shows though are minimal on weekends. Sunday night's better for shows." House explained. "American Beauty is on next." He gestured to the television. "Ever seen it?" He asked.

"Nope." Cameron shook her head then rested it on his shoulder.

"Well tonight, you will see it at long last." House grinned.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: I (As in Myself) Own (As in partake in ownership of or have control over) Nothing (As in... well not a thing) It (As in House M.D.) Belongs (As in owned (See above for definition of 'own')) to (umm, I'm stumped) David Shore (As in the creator of House M.D) and (As in also) Bad Hat Harry Productions (As in corporation who is affiliated in the making of House M.D)

Chapter Six: It's _Always_ Roses

Gregory House was seated in his office, a look of complete concentration smashing the lines of his forehead together tightly. It was Monday, the first day back at the hospital after a weekend of non-stop bedroom madness with Allison Cameron. He couldn't help the little grin that fleeted across his lips at the memory of the weekend. Eventually, sometime Sunday morning, after awakening in Allison's apartment, she had packed her toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, a clean outfit for work on Monday, Kane's food and water dishes, food, and Kane herself. And right as he sat in his chair, House _knew_ that the german shepherd mix was probably tearing apart his flat.

Watching Allison enter the diagnostics department, House began to observe her make the morning coffee, forgetting about the impending doom of his home. He knew she was going to try anything and everything she could to get word out around the hospital about their relationship. True, they'd agreed to not announce anything, but that didn't mean she couldn't lay a big, sloppy kiss on him in the middle of the lobby! Hence why he'd hung back, pretending his cane was stuck in the motorcycle's holster.

"I'm such a pussy." House hung his head in shame. "I need subtle, I need something that people don't realize that we announced it ourselves..." House groaned when he had trouble coming up with a plan. For him it either had to be annoying and loud, which he didn't think Allison would appreciate, or it had to be so miniscule that no one would realize it had been intentional. "Hmmm." House began to plot, then a wide grin succumbed to his features. "Now let's see if I can dodge the bullet long enough to get this idea in motion!" He grinned as he picked up the phone.

As Foreman and Chase came into the department, Chase paused immediately upon seeing Cameron. He could see tell-tale signs of hickeys peaking out from just beneath her shirt collar, and a look on her face that was all but screaming: 'LOOK AT ME!! I GOT LAID!'

"Good weekend, Cameron?" Chase asked, sitting down across from his female co-worker.

"Yup." Cameron didn't look up from the mail she was sorting.

"What'd you do?" Chase asked, ignoring the confused look from Foreman.

"Had mind blowing sex." She answered, still looking at the mail. Foreman proceeded to spit his coffee back into the mug as he stifled a laugh at her blatant admission.

"With?" Chase pressed.

Cameron bit her lip, if she said she'd been with House, would that still be an announcement or the answer to a question. She damned the gray areas and replied. "Does it matter?"

"Possibly." Chase crossed his arms over his chest in a petulant way.

"Good morning, my minions." House walked into the room from his office, "Cameron, go get the test results from the lab." He waved an arm at her. She stood and left the room.

"Test results?" Chase asked in confusion, for they'd been slow with patients lately. "Who's?"

"Mine, I think I may be pregnant." House picked up the mail Cameron had sorted, tossing half of it in the garbage. "Now seeing as we once _again_ are patient-less... Foreman," he tossed his name tag at the neurologist, "to the clinic."

"Why do you send him all the time?" Chase grumbled.

"Because we look so much alike." House deadpanned, getting annoyed as he turned back to his office.

"Where are you going?"

"For a jog."

Chase frowned, "Well... What should I do?"

"Sing 'God Save the Queen', I don't care." House closed the blinds behind him and locked his conjoined door. He flopped down on his couch and made himself comfy. A moment later, Cameron entered and locked his door and drew the blinds on the hallway side.

"Thanks." She sighed, heading towards the couch he was seated on. Straddling his lap, she draped herself over him and sighed contentedly as his hands wrapped around her waist. "I didn't expect Chase to be so observant." She groaned, nestling her head into the crook of his neck.

"It is quite a change than what we're used to." House smirked, running his hands down her spine.

She laughed, kissing his jaw and working towards his neck. Her hands worked his belt loose before undoing his pants so that her hands could sneak inside.

Slouching into the couch, House grunted as she pulled his cock free, and shrugged off her lab coat. He groaned softly, running his index finger across her cheek bone as she stroked his shaft.

Standing up, Allison spread his legs so that she could kneel between them. Taking him in her hands she gripped him firmly, stroking until his shaft was hard. She took the condom he offered her, opened it and rolled it down his length. With a coquettish smile, Allison stood back up and straddled his hips. House pulled her skirt up around her waist and groaned as she pushed her panties to the side and sank down onto him.

"Fuck..." House groaned, his hands going about her hips to help quicken the movements. Hands leaving her hips to undo the buttons of her top, House massaged her satin encased breasts once the front of her shirt was open. "You're so beautiful." He murmured, kissing the tops of her peaks as she bounced on his hard cock.

"Greg." She purred, arching her back slightly as she rode more intensely, swiveling her hips in a circle and keening gently. He shoved her bra up above her breasts and suckled a hard tipped nipple as his hands dropped back to her hips to propel her movements.

Allison buried her face to his neck, trying to stifle her moans. She was nervous that someone might hear from outside the office, but as his fingers slid from her hip to between her thighs, these thoughts were thrown out as she climaxed. A cry dampened against House's neck as she came and he followed her over the edge.

Collapsing against him, Allison tried to collect her breath as she sprawled boneless over his body. His hands trailed over her back, tickling along her spine as he drew lazy patterns through the back of her shirt.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE!?" Two pairs of wide eyes locked on the door to the balcony, where Dr. James Wilson stood gaping in complete shock and moderate disgust.

Allison emitted a little squeak as she tried to recollect herself. Pulling her bra back down over her breasts, she hurriedly buttoned her blouse and blushed as she clambered out of House's lap, for he had still been within her when they were interrupted. She hurriedly picked her lab coat off of the floor and, face still beet red, ran to the door, unlocked it, and ran down the hall.

Both Wilson and House had remained motionless as Dr. Cameron had made her escape, and Wilson had, fortunately, remained oblivious to the sight of Cameron... _dismounting_... his best friend. With the show now over, House stood up and removed the condom, throwing it in the trash before tucking himself back in his pants and fastening them.

"You are _not_ going to leave that there!" Wilson nearly shouted, pointing at the trash can.

"Why? Did you want to keep it?" House asked, grabbing his cane and limping towards his desk chair.

Wilson glowered. "I'm never going to be able to sit on that couch, ever again!" He whined after a moment of silence.

"Aww, shnookums, I'll buy you a new couch." House cooed sarcastically, grabbing a pile of charts and starting to fill them out.

Wilson gaped, "_You're_ doing charts!" He pointed at the manilla folders as if they were a satanic ritual book.

House looked at the charts in his hands and practically recoiled in disgust. "I'm out of my mind!" He claimed, shoving the charts off of his desk to land in a flurry of papers on the floor.

"How long has this been going on?" Wilson sat in a chair opposite House's desk, glancing at the couch out of the corner of his eyes and discretely shivering.

"The abnormal behavior seems to be a recent occurrence." House mumbled.

"Not the charts! You and Ally!" Wilson roared.

"Shh! Jeez, Wilson, why don't you take an ad out in the Tribune!" House hushed him. "Since Friday night." He kicked his feet up and grabbed his Vicodin, giving it a shake before opening it and popping one. "By the way, I need a refill." He shook the bottle again, the sound of a lone pill filling the air.

"Friday!? Is that why I haven't been able to get a hold of you all weekend?" Wilson asked.

"You sound like my mother when I went away to college. Stop it." House rubbed his eyes. "And yes, that's why you couldn't get a hold of me." He leaned forward to grab his GBA off of the desk.

Wilson watched his friend play his Gameboy for a minute, pondering, "You should tell Cuddy. She needs to know."

"We decided not to tell anyone, but we weren't going to be secretive-"

"Yeah, I caught onto that part." Wilson muttered.

"If people figure it out, fine. But we're not announcing anything." House finished, not even deterred by Wilson's statement.

"But it's wonderful news!"

"It's _our_ news, and our decision."

Wilson sighed.

"Besides, I'm sure people will figure it out in... Oh..." He glanced at his watch. "A half hour or so."

Wilson's eyes narrowed. "What did you do?" He asked accusingly.

"Stick around and you'll see." House grinned to himself once again.

-A Half Hour Later-

"Excuse me, where is Dr. Allison Cameron's office?" A man carrying a large vase of flowers covered in plastic asked the nurse in the lobby.

"Diagnostics, but I'm sorry, you can't deliver them. I can take them up for you though." The nurse lied, curious who had sent the young immunologist flowers.

"Oh, okay, can you sign here, please?" He held out a clip board which she signed. She waited until he'd left the lobby before she peeled back the plastic.

"Angie! Someone sent you flowers!?" Another nurse flocked to the station.

Angie shook her head and grinned. "No... Dr. Cameron!" She replied excitedly as her fingers found the card. She almost screamed when she saw it was in an envelope, but rejoiced when she realized they had accidently left it unsealed.

"Who are they from!?" The nurse beside Angie vibrated with excitement, attracting a few more passing nurses, creating a small gaggle.

Angie opened the envelope and read the card aloud. "-Allison, Mexican tonight? I'm sick of Chinese.-House."

"OM MY GOD!" The nurses screamed.

"House sent Cameron flowers!?" Said one.

"They're dating!?" Said another.

"He should have taken her for Italian instead!" Piped in a third.

"You don't think they've been having _take-out_ Chinese, do you!?" Another hinted.

"You don't think they're!-"

"I think so!"

"Shh! I have to deliver these! No one say that I opened them!" Angie barked to the gaggle of nurses. She pulled the plastic back over the arrangement and headed off to the Diagnostics floor as the swarm went back to their previous tasks.

Angie was surprised to see Dr. cameron wasn't in the department, but she saw Dr. House watch her set them on the table, and it took all of her will power not to stare at him. She knew that he'd _know_ if she'd looked at the card. Rushing out, she left the red tulip and iris bouquet sitting on the table.

Foreman entered the office, noting the flowers automatically. Curious, he looked at the note. Seeing it was for Cameron, he bit his lip. House was in his office, playing his GBA as Wilson talked to him. Though Foreman was pretty sure he could get away with looking at the note and not being seen, he didn't risk it. Instead, he poured himself more coffee and glared at the flowers.

"Pay up." House held out a hand, grinning when Wilson slapped fifty dollars in it. "I told you Foreman wouldn't look at the card. Wanna bet another fifty that Chase _does_ look at it?"

"No, because I _know_ Chase will." Wilson shook his head.

Right on que, Chase walked into the office and, like Foreman, immediately saw the flowers. "Who's are those?" He asked, brow furrowing.

"Cameron's." Foreman was still glaring daggers at the evil, mind-fucking flowers.

"Who would send Cameron flowers?" Chase asked, grabbing the note and flipping it around in his fingers.

"Hey! That's _Cameron's_!" Foreman scolded.

"The envelope's _open_." Chase grinned.

"Not yours to read."

Chase ignored him and went to open it.

"Who sent you flowers?" Cameron asked, coming in and seeing the arrangement on the table.

Chase flushed, "Oh, they're for you. There's a card." He handed it to her.

Cameron took the card and leaned over to smell the flowers as she pulled it from the envelope. "Mmm, I love irises." She sighed, looking at the note. She read it and flushed a healthy pink.

"Who are they from?" Foreman asked, wanting to end his torment.

"A recovered patient." She replied cryptically, smirking at Chase's frown.

"So, how is _that_ suppose to bring your relationship out?" Wilson asked.

"Did you see who brought the flowers up?" House responded. At Wilson's blank look, he clarified. "Nurse Angie! I requested that the envelope not be sealed, giving the nurses' station the opportunity to read the card. And if Angie brought them up, I guarantee that the entire lobby and clinic knows by now."

"And the boys?" Wilson jerked his head to Chase and Foreman.

"That," House stood up, "I take care of now." He limped into the office, followed distantly by Wilson.

Cameron spun around, hearing House come out of his office. She watched him close their distance, stand _right next to her_, place his arm around her waist and ask, "Do you like them?"

Needless to say, Chase and Foreman's jaws dropped.

Cameron felt a warmth pool in her stomach. She had been boiling over with excitement, wanting to scream to the world that she'd finally gotten House to be with her. Unfortunately, for reasons she could not interpret, House had delayed her symphony of exclamations. He had flat out refused to make an announcement, and she was fighting to scream one. So, they made a consensus, neither one happy with the outcome, but content.

Now, the real question needed to be answered. Why did he change his mind? Cameron vowed to figure it out, and left to her own devices, Dr. Cameron could come up with pretty interesting ways of getting information.

Later that Day

Dr. James Wilson walked down the halls later that day, and found that House was _right_! The entire hospital was buzzing with the news, even some of the _patients_ were talking about it! Sighing to himself, Wilson worried a little underneath. After all, as much as everyone refused to believe it, House was fragile, but Wilson knew better.

He had seen the pit of self-destruction that House had thrown himself into when House's infarction had occurred. He had seen the life he had built around him fall as strategically as dominoes as month after month, things got worse. Stacy leaving him wasn't what had driven him down. The infarction, the excruciating pain, the surgery, the physical rehab, the chronic pain, _and_ losing Stacy was what finally broke him. House could take a lot of pain, but every man has his breaking limits, and the further the limit, the more pain once it is breached.

Not wanting to see it happen again, Wilson went on a search for Allison Cameron. He found her in the testing lab.

"Hey, Allison." Wilson smiled warmly at her beaming grin.

"Hey, Wilson, what's up?" She smiled a big, toothy smile.

"I need to ask you something." His expression became somber, causing her smile to wane ever so slightly.

"What is it?" She asked a little nervously.

"It's not because he's got a limp... right? Or because he's emotionally damaged? You really like him for his cynical, bastard self, right?" Wilson blurted out before he could phrase more delicately.

Allison's posture relaxed and her smile came back full force. "I care about House because he's intelligent, and yeah, he's a jerk to people, but not to be a jerk. He knows that people are just... well... _stupid_, and that they will throw all caution to the wind just because they refuse to believe something about themselves or their loved ones. He knows this, because he's done it too. And he's not completely cynical, he's realistic."

"That's not-"

"I love him for him, not a limp or a cane or a Vicodin addiction." Cameron put her hands on her hips, "I love him for riding a motorcycle and playing the piano, and putting up with my dog who's probably torn apart his apartment by now!" She then confessed. "I'm not going to make this relationship easy for him. I'm not going to let him walk all over me and get his way."

"But you already have. You agreed not to tell anyone you were seeing him." Wilson pointed out. "And I know _damn_ well that you wanted to scream it from the roof tops.

"That was different." She said slowly.

"How?" He asked sternly.

"Because it wasn't what he wanted either. He wanted hush hush and sneaking around. I wanted to tell everyone. So we reached an agreement of no formal announcement, but to let people figure it out. And..."

"And what?"

"To be honest... I didn't want to make an announcement either. I was nervous about it. I like the way House got the word out, it was better than anything I could think of... And those flowers..." She sighed slightly.

"What about them?" Wilson's brow furrowed in confusion.

"They were irises. The only way he knew I liked irises is because I told him two months ago in passing."

"Luck."

"No, he knew." She smiled, grabbing a file and walking towards the door.

"How do you know?"

Cameron turned from the door frame to grin at him, "Because, unless you know otherwise, it's _always_ roses." And with that she smiled and left. TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Owner of nothing House M.D related :(

Chapter Seven: I Heard it Through the Grapevine

Allison walked down the hall from the lab, glancing down at the files she carried. Everyone she passed could see her glowing, and many of the female nurses giggled knowingly. She didn't care that she was well aware of their thoughts, because they could only guess at what made her radiate with happiness, and they were probably wrong.

Glowing her way to the elevator, Allison tapped her foot and hummed as she waited for the lift to arrive. The curve of her lips did no justice to the smile in her eyes when the doors opened and she entered, sharing a moment of reflective silence as she was the only passenger.

With a ding, she was on the diagnostics floor and walking towards the office. However, when an arm shot out of the stairwell and dragged her out of the hall, a gasp of surprise interrupted her cheerful humming.

"It's not a joke, right?"

"Huh!?" Cameron looked into Foreman's big, brown eyes that were full of questions.

"You and House are really together, right? You're not just trying to cause chaos, right?" Cameron nearly laughed in his face. "What?" He saw her shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Cameron lowered the collar of her shirt, "Does this look like a prank?" She asked, revealing the numerous hickeys.

Foreman gaped for a second and then enveloped her in a hug. "Congratulations." He smiled against her cheek. "I'm glad this finally ended."

"What do you mean?" Allison asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

Foreman laughed. "The sexual tension between you two was driving me nuts!" He admitted, "Besides, you won me a hundred bucks." At her look of further confusion he explained. "I had a bet with Chase that you would finally get your claws into House."

"WHAT!?" Cameron shouted, her voice echoing down the stairwell.

With a shrug, Foreman dismissed her cry. "Hey, it's great news all around."

Cameron rolled her eyes and left the stairwell to finally arrive in diagnostics. She could see from the glass walls that a congregation had built, but she had no clue what it was for until she entered the door.

Glancing around she noted there was an OBGYN, a cardiologist, a couple of nurses and a custodian all waiting for her.

"What is going on?" She asked, dropping her files on the table, confusion remaining her number one expression that day.

"Don't mind the parade, _dear_." House muttered from a corner she hadn't originally seen him in. "They are here to observe the reality of the rumor mill."

"What?" Cameron asked, even more confused.

"Are you two really dating?" Piped in a nurse.

Nearly thrown for a loop, Allison found her center again and responded slowly, "...Yes..."

"SEE!" The nurses shouted at the cardiologist and OBGYN.

The two doctors rolled their eyes before the cardiologist muttered, "We will never again doubt the abilities of the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital's grapevine." He said as the two doctors made their exit.

Following them, the nurses and custodian also retreated, leaving House and Cameron to themselves.

Sighing in exasperation, Cameron leaned against House and dropped her head onto his shoulder. "I can't believe this." She groaned.

"You're the one who wanted people to know." House shrugged.

"Go to hell, Greg." She muttered, giving him a slight smack on the chest.

Chuckling lightly, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head. "It'll get better." He promised. "After all, gossip dies the moment something else comes up. Give it a couple of days."

"I know." She pouted. "But I hate that people look at me and giggle in the halls like we are back in high school."

"What do you expect after landing such a gorgeous babe?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, imitating a sexy leer.

She laughed, then looked around him, "Where's my sexy babe?" She asked.

"Nice."

"HOUSE!"

Two pairs of round eyes looked at the door to diagnostics, both knowing the voice well. "Good afternoon, Cuddy. Are the twins enjoying the day out?" He asked, eyes dropping to stare at her cleavage.

Cameron swatted him once more on the chest.

"Glad someone can finally do that." Cuddy sighed. "I guess the word is true. My assistant couldn't stop gossiping about it with one of the candy stripers."

"I knew he was gay." House smirked, and gasped when Cameron elbowed him in the gut.

Cuddy smirked, "This may not be as much of a problem as I thought if she keeps hitting you."

"Abuse!" House cried.

Cameron rolled her eyes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Better?"

"I could think of something better-"

"And _that_ is exactly why I came by!" Cuddy pointed at House. "I demand that you two keep the PDA prohibited from work." She crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't need a scandal or for some poor mail boy to catch you two doing... something."

"Elaborate on 'something'." House grumbled, causing Cameron's face to flush.

"Just keep it professional."

"You want me to continue seeing hookers?" House gaped.

"Not _that_ kind of professional!" Cuddy blushed, then laughed when House got another hard jab to the chest.

Cameron was grateful for their banter; it kept her blush unnoticeable. In truth, their comments weren't what made her cheeks redden, but memory of what she and House had done in his office earlier. If Cuddy knew they had already done... something... she'd probably have a stroke.

"We'll keep our relationship professional in the hospital." Cameron promised, taking the silence as an opportunity to finally get a comment in, rather than elbowing her boyfriend.

House glared for a moment. "If you want to keep the hospital running smoothly, could you please put up a flyer or something to keep people from coming in here to gape at us? It really is distracting."

"Then maybe you shouldn't have announced it to everyone." Cuddy glared.

House's jaw hung open. "We didn't announce anything!" He defended. "That note was in an envelope, and plenty of staff members have received flowers at work."

"Yes, an unsealed envelope." Cuddy's eyes narrowed. "I've known you too long House. You requested that."

"I want evidence." House pouted.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Just... Keep things low key, please?"

"Low key... Like a second octave C?" House leered. "How's this?" He asked, wrapping an arm around Cameron's waist and giving her a kiss.

"Lower key." Cuddy glared.

House smirked and nodded.

Cameron was blushing furiously as she nodded as well, taken off guard by House's kiss. She wasn't surprised by his actions, just his timing.

"Dr. Cameron, can I talk to you alone for a moment?" Cuddy waved her hand towards the hall. Brow furrowed, the younger woman followed the Hospital Director to the hallway, leaving House alone with an equally confused expression. Glancing once more at House through the glass wall, Cuddy finally spoke again. "Don't hurt him, okay?" She said somberly.

"Oh my God." Cameron rolled her eyes. "You too!? Why does everyone think I'm dating him so that I can rip his heart out and spit on it!?" She asked defensively.

"Allison." Cuddy said firmly. "Gregory House is the best doctor we have in this hospital, probably in this entire city. But if you're dating him with some hopes of ... transforming his personality, then you better get out before one of you gets hurt."

"I've already had this discussion with Wilson." Cameron crossed her arms over her chest. "I have no intention of messing with him, okay?" And with that, she spun on her heel and went back into the department.

"What'd she tell you?" House asked as she came in and finally got to the files she'd brought up.

"Nothing." Cameron responded darkly, not even looking up from the files.

"Allison." He said firmly as he sat down across from her, willing her to look up at him. "What did she say?"

"Nothing!" She snapped, still not looking at him.

Still not taking his eyes off of her, House began to ponder. Avoidance of eye contact wasn't Allison's style unless...

House stood up and limped over to her, capturing her chin with his fingers he tilted her to look up at him. Despite her fight to not have him turn her face, Cameron eventually gave in and allowed tear filled eyes to meet his.

"Am I such an awful person that people think I'm trying to hurt you?" She choked out. House sat next to her, listening carefully. "Wilson and Cuddy both lectured me today about how I better not be trying to change you or dating you because you're crippled." She threw the files onto the table and stood up, quickly leaving the room as she tried to get away before tears came pouring from her eyes.

House's jaw clenched and his heart broke as she fled the office. Standing up, the very pissed off House limped onto his balcony to Wilson's office. He could see that he was with a patient, but damnit, there was no way that was going to stop him. House didn't knock, or even announce himself, and Wilson could see that this was going to be bad.

"Mia, can we please reschedule? It looks like something has happened." Wilson tried to express delicately as House stood in the room, glaring at him. When the patient had left Wilson spun around to face his friend, "What the hell, House-"

House punched him in the face, "You said _what_ to her!?" He growled menacingly.

"What?" Wilson held his jaw, confused and in pain.

"What did you say to Allison?" His expression did not soften.

"I asked her if she was dating you because she likes you, and not because you're crippled." Wilson yelled at him. "Excuse me for making sure she wasn't doing _exactly_ what I know you would resent her for!" He shouted, straitening up.

"Well, excuse me, Dr. Wilson, for jumping to conclusions, but you're an ass!" House kept his foreboding posture. "You hurt her feelings. Allison's crying and she can't even stay in the same room with me now, because she's so damn self-conscious! She now thinks that _everyone_ believes that she's with me so she can change me, thanks to you and Lisa!" He shouted.

Wilson sunk down into his chair, still holding his jaw. "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't phrase it the way I should have." He looked up at his friend. "I just don't want her to hurt you. You can't take another hit right now, and you know it."

"I'll risk it." House turned to the office door and opened it. Before he walked out he looked back at his friend. "Now... Apologise to Allison." And he left without another word.

House was on a mission, and anyone who passed him while he stormed to the Dean of Medicine's office could see it. Some stared, some shivered, and some ran away from his route of destination. House was pissed, and no one wanted to be there when he blew up.

Cuddy looked up when her door opened, and then shut with the smallest of sounds. Surprise covered her face to see it was House. "What?"

He didn't say anything for a minute. "I understand," he began, limping towards her desk, "that you have some un-holy obsession with protecting me." He sat down in front of her, his cane inches from his chin. "And apparently, you have come to the conclusion that I cannot make a decision for myself that will be ultimately good for me."

"House, I-"

"I'm not finished." He said in such a calm, cold voice, that Cuddy shuddered slightly. "Yes, I have been known to exacerbate an issue until it is about to blow up in my face. Yes, I have a Vicodin addiction that I have yet to try and overcome. But these are my decisions, and I cause the pain myself, without the aid of others. So next time you want to go to the potential source of what could hurt me. Come to me. Not to my colleagues, not to my friends, and especially not to my girlfriend who is probably bawling right now." House stood up and left, leaving Cuddy shocked, and overwhelmed with guilt.

It had not been Lisa's plan to hurt Allison's feelings. She wanted to protect someone she considered a friend, but she had not thought far enough to realize that her comments may hurt someone else. First she checked the lab, there was no Allison. Next, she checked _every single_ ladies room in the hospital, which was very time consuming. Finally, she paged the doctor to her office.

Allison never responded to her page.

"House, I can't find her." Wilson walked into his friend's office.

"House, I can't find her." Cuddy walked into House's office, nearly crying.

"I sent her home." House said, playing his GBA.

"You WHAT!?" They both shouted at him.

House remained playing his game system. "I sent her home. She was upset, absolutely no use to me here."

"You just told me to apologise to her!" Wilson hollered.

"What's stopping you?" House snapped his GBA shut and stood up to look his friend in the eyes. "Or is having to _leave_ the hospital too inconvenient for you to make an apology?"

Both Cuddy and Wilson looked at their shoes, both disgusted with themselves. Neither thought that their words would hurt her, but neither thought that they wouldn't either.

"Is she at her apartment or yours?" Wilson asked guiltily.

"Mine." House sat back down and opened his GBA.

-House's Apartment-

Allison was curled up on the couch, Kane sleeping up against her. Amazingly enough, the flat wasn't in complete shambles when she got there. A chair had been knocked over, and Allison found that Kane had chewed up one of her shoes, but luckily nothing of House's had been demolished, and Kane hadn't pissed all over the floor.

Kane gave her mother a lick on the hand as if to say, "Momma, I don't know why you're sad, but I love you!" Allison pressed her nose against Kane's throat and made kissing sounds as she scratched the base of two pointed ears.

"I love you, baby girl." Allison cooed against her dog's fur. "And just for the record, my mood has nothing to do with House. It's all Cuddy and Wilson." She planted a kiss on the dog's head and went into the kitchen. Kane trotted behind her, wagging her tail as Allison made a sandwich. Eventually Allison threw a slice of lunch meat at her, which the german shepherd quickly gobbled up.

Settling onto the couch once again, Allison groaned when a knock came at the door. Without thinking she answered it. Her face turned into a scowl and she crossed her arms over her breasts. "What?"

"Allison, can we come in?" Cuddy asked, barely looking her in the eyes.

The younger doctor stepped out of the door way and walked to the couch, leaving the door open. Cuddy and Wilson entered and went into the living room.

"I'm sorry, Allison." Cuddy began, sitting on the couch beside her as Wilson sat on the sturdy coffee table next to her sandwich. He jumped when Kane barked at him.

"For what?" Allison grabbed her snack and tapped Kane on the nose. The dog stopped barking and settled her head on her master's knee.

Wilson took the reigns. "We just feel bad about what we said earlier." He admitted. "It's none of our business."

Cameron rolled her eyes. "Bullshit." She put her food back down. "He's your best friend, Wilson. And Cuddy he's your best doctor. His well being is in your best interest, so don't try and roll it off as none of your business. I wasn't hurt by your concern for him, I was hurt by your immediate response, and your obvious lack of respect for me as a colleague." She stood up, dislodging Kane's head from her knee. "Both of you approached me as if I were some evil bitch trying to break him down. Both of you made me justify my feelings for him and we've only been dating for _three_ days!"

Cuddy stood up and followed Allison into the kitchen where she'd begun brushing crumbs off of the counter. "We were inconsiderate, we apologise." Cuddy said gently. "We are concerned for him, but you have to see where we're coming from."

"Both of you have hurt him too." Allison glared. "Maybe you should question your own motives instead of mine." She brushed her hands off and placed them on her hips.

"Ally, we're trying to apologise." Wilson pleaded desperately.

"Fine, apology accepted, now go." She walked towards the door and held it open. "Next time you want to talk about my personal relationships, I would greatly appreciate the matters be adressed outside of work." She looked at Cuddy. "You know, just to keep things professional.

-Back at PPTH-

"Don't you two have anything better to do?" House groaned when Cuddy and Wilson burst into his office.

"She just kicked us out of _your_ apartment." Cuddy growled in annoyance. "_We_ try to apologise, and _she_ goes nuts!"

"Can we over emphasise the pronouns any more than that, Cuddy?" House rubbed his sore eyes. He should be leaving in the next five minutes, not listening to this!

"What the hell, Greg!" Wilson shouted. "She just blew up on us."

"Did she yell?" House asked.

"No." Cuddy's brow furrowed.

"Oh, you're screwed." House stood up and grabbed his cane and bag. "I'll talk to her."

"Great, Gregory House is going to school us on the proper way to apologise to people." Wilson rolled his eyes then jumped when House pointed his cane at him like a sword.

"That's right, I am." House lowered his cane and limped towards the door. "See you tomorrow my stupid pupils."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: I do not own House or any of its characters.

Chapter Eight: And at the End of the Day...

House opened his apartment door to find Allison lying sprawled out on the couch, Kane lying half on top of her and half behind her, squished between the back of the couch and her owner. A small smile spread across his lips at the sight.

"Hello, my little she-devil." House greeted her, leaning over the back of the couch to plant a kiss on Allison's cheek. Kane wiggled her nose against House's face before licking his chin. "Not you, mutt, I'm talking to your mistress."

Allison laughed. "How was the rest of work?" She asked sleepily.

"You know, the usual. Patient on the verge of death, Chase running around agreeing with me, Foreman running around disagreeing with me, and me being right." House limped around the couch and snapped his fingers at Kane. The dog hopped off of the couch and walked away after a deep stretch. "Oh, she's good."

With another laugh, Allison wrapped her arms around House, pulling him on top of her. "You talked to Wilson and Cuddy... Didn't you?" She asked softly, planting gentle kisses along his jaw.

"Yes." He slid his hand up the length of her body as he placed his own kisses around her face. "Now, why did you do a very un-Cameron like thing by not accepting their apologies?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and sliding between her and the back of the couch so they were spooning side by side.

"I _did_ accept their apology." She frowned.

"They said you kicked them out." House said pointedly.

"I did accept... Right before I showed them the door." Allison smirked. House threw his head back and laughed.

Placing his chin on her shoulder, House gave her a sideways glance. "Are you still upset?" He asked.

Allison sighed. Yes, she still felt a twinge of dispair, but the longer he laid beside her, she felt better. "A little."

"Hmm..." House sounded thoughtful as his hand traced carefully from her hip to her ribs, a lazy caress in his pensive state. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

A gentil smile spread across Allison's mouth as she placed a kiss on his hand. "I think I can think of something..."

"I aim to please."

"Liar."

"What do you want?" He asked, placing careful nips along the back of her neck.

"Hmmm..." Allison turned in his arms so that she was facing him. House immediately captured her lips with his. "Cook me dinner." She smirked. Jaw dropping, House just gawked at her. "What?" She asked, chuckling at his look.

"You... Want me to cook for you?" House quirked an eyebrow.

"Surprised?"

"Allison, we've blown passed surprised, we're at paranoid now... Either you are suicidal or you really just don't get why I do NOT grocery shop."

She laughed, hard, and then gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. "Come on, you can't be that bad!" She teased.

House rolled his eyes, "Fine, I will cook you a meal _so_ bad, you'll think I've poisoned you. Then, maybe, you'll realize that Gregory House does not cook." He crawled over her and off the couch, limping into the kitchen.

Allison rose to follow him, stopping at his kitchen counter to smell the flowers he'd gotten her. "I'm sure there's something you can cook without it registering under attempted homicide." She reasoned.

"I think you have some romanticised idea that I am an amazing chef in denial, or something..." House narrowed his eyes at her. "I guarantee you, this is not the case."

"We'll see."

-A Half Hour Later-

Allison sat with a meal before her that she wasn't sure she would eat if she had been locked in a room for three days without food. There was a serving of slightly burnt mac and cheese, mushy green beans that looked like a mass of green goo, and canned tuna that House had tried to 'Just sear' that was now blackened to charcoal.

House was standing over her, arms crossed, watching expectantly. He was waiting for her to just push the plate away and demand that they order take-out. In all honesty that would have been what he would have done!

Thinking to herself, Allison realized that she had bullied him into cooking, and she knew by watching him that he hadn't _purposely_ ruined the entire thing. However, she couldn't demand that he cook for her and then not even try it... Could she?

Taking a deep breath, Allison picked up the plastic fork and slowly scooped up the safest looking part of the meal, mac and cheese, and brought it too her lips. Sure it was a little singed, but it couldn't be _that_ bad.

Putting the food to her mouth she prepared herself before consumption.

House laughed as she spit out the macaroni and cheese, a sound of disgust issuing from her lips before she downed half of her glass of wine.

"Take out?" He asked innocently, holding up the menues. Allison nodded. "Chinese, Italian, Mexican, or American?"

"You said Mexican on the flowers." She pointed out.

"Good point." House grabbed the phone and handed it to her. "Since you so bravely stood up to my cooking, you order." He said, tossing her the menue for a Mexican restaurant.

Allison went about ordering, not surprised that the restaurant already had House's credit card and address on file. After words, she went to the couch where House was flipping through channels vigorously. Automatically, she snuggled up against him and grinned to herself when he unconsciously wrapped an arm around her. She groaned when the phone rang and their moment was broken.

House picked up the cordless and answered. "What?" He asked informally. There was silence while the person on the other line spoke. "Watching Tv with Allison, why?" More silence. "Too damn bad." He hung up.

"Who was that?" Allison asked, curling back up against him.

"Cuddy."

"What did she want?" Allison's voice darkened.

House looked at her for a moment. "Allison," he began carefully, "I know what they said hurt you-"

"I don't care about what they said. I care about where and how they said it." Allison crossed her arms over her chest. "They didn't have to bring it up at work."

"And how often do either of them see you out of work? Wilson, yeah, you may see him _more_ outside of work now that you're here every other day. But I don't see Cuddy outside of work. Do you?"

Allison shook her head. "No, but-"

"But nothing, it was convenient. So what if it was unprofessional to bring it up there? You wanted people to know at work, and that means you'll have to hear about us at work from other hospital members." House said firmly. "How often do I say something that would be considered unprofessional?"

She smirked, "Every other sentence?"

"Exactly." House smirked as well. "Just give them a break. It's in their DNA or something, they must meddle in things that they have no business meddling in." With that he went back to channel surfing.

Smiling at his method of explanation, Allison couldn't help but subconsciously accept the apology that Cuddy and Wilson had tried to give her earlier.

"Besides, sex isn't any fun when half of the active party is thinking about something else."

"Hmm, someone's being presumptuous." Allison looked at him faux sternness on her face.

"I don't presume, I know." House whispered in her ear as his hand trailed down her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. His teeth nibbled on her earlobe, trailing down her neck. Allison crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she brushed her lips across his.

His fingers dropped to the buttons of her blouse, undoing the clasps swiftly as he let her tongue sweep into his mouth to wage war against his. Hips began to slowly circle and he could feel his erection begin to press up against her, trying to capture more friction. Allison pulled off her blouse and threw it unceremoniously to the floor, gasping as his right hand palmed her breast and his left went about unclasping her bra. She groaned as his palm came to her bare breast, thumb flicking her nipple into a hard peak.

"Greg." She moaned, breaking the kiss and grinding harder against him. Unzipping her skirt, House pulled it up over her head and tossed it aside. She pulled her hair free from its ponytail and then went to pull the tail of his shirt up and over his head.

Running his fingers down her sides, House was pleased to see the shivers that ran down her body at his touch. Claiming her lips once more, his hands fell to the fly of his pants, releasing the strain as his erection took advantage of the decreased resistance and pressed more insistently against her core through his boxers. Allison delved her own hands into his boxers, freeing him of all confines at last. She crawled off of him long enough to pull off her panties and accept the condom House handed her. She pulled his pants and boxers off before rolling the condom down his length and climbing back onto his lap.

House gritted his teeth as she sunk down onto him. He could feel her constrict around him, holding him tighter as he penetrated deeper. A small spasm ran down her spine as she moaned in pleasure, causing a quick flutter to form around his cock. Burying his head into her shoulder, he thrust upward, hands gripping her hips roughly as he bit and nipped the juncture between neck and shoulder. She held his head to her as she rolled her hips a sudden bucking striking her deeply, her excited cry ringing into the tv lit room.

House's right hand trailed up her back until he found her hair, curling it into his fist, he pulled her neck back to admit him better access to her throat. Allison raked her hands down his chest as he bit her throat gently. She was overwhelmed as she concentrated on his thrusting hips and his ministration to the pulse point on her neck.

She rose and fell on his lap, meeting him on each thrust, the collision leaving her breathless with each strike. He released her hair, to wrap his arms around her body to hold her tightly to him as they climaxed.

Sprawling over him, much like she had in his office that morning, Allison sighed his name against his ear as she tried to calm her heavy breathing.

"I told you... I don't... presume..." House panted, still holding her against him, smiling at her laugh.

"Let's see if you can make any more presumptions on the evening." Allison laughed, giving him a tight hug.

The moment was interrupted when a knock came at the door.

"That would be the food." House sighed, helping her off of him as he rose and collected his pants and cane. "That's was the most distracting wait for delivery I've ever had. Be right back." He limped to the door to accept the food.

House noted the blush on the teenager's face, glancing back he could see Allison's bare legs hanging off of the arm of the couch. That combined with his own state of dress caused many assumptions to run through the boy's mind.

"No looking at that. She belongs to me." House handed over the tip and took the food before shutting the door in the delivery boy's face.

"Someone's getting possessive." Allison laughed as she accepted a bag of food.

House leaned over to plant a kiss on the top of her head, "You have no idea."

-The Next Morning-

House woke up, smacking his alarm clock to the floor off of the night stand. Groggily, he sat up and put his feet on the floor, a small smile curving his lips when Allison's arm wrapped around him. "It's too early..." She grumbled, giving him a tight squeeze. He chuckled and turned to her, her eyes hooded from sleep. Playfully he ruffled her hair before he stood to make his way to the shower.

After a quick shower he went to brush his teeth. Examining his counter top he found an extra toothbrush and toothpaste, a round brush and a bag of make-up. Even a pink razor and tropical scented shaving gel now resided there, and even as House took in the new elements of his bathroom, he was surprised to realize he was not annoyed in the least. Slowly but surely invading artifacts from planet Allison Cameron were staking claim over his home, and yet he was not bothered in the least. Limping back into his bedroom, House saw Kane had jumped up onto the bed and was curled up with Allison.

"Great, Allison invades my home and her mutt invades by bed." House grumbled, limping to his dresser and grabbing his clothes.

Allison sat up slowly, stroking Kane's coat as she blinked in the bits of light that filtered in through the almost closed blinds. "Do we _have_ to go to work?" She pouted, her bare torso manipulating him into wanting to stay in as well.

"Only if you want to deal with Cuddy's screeching." House rubbed his eyes and proceeded to dress. Allison sighed in defeat and proceeded to get ready for work as well, after which she walked Kane and her and House went to work in her car.

The trip from the lobby to the elevator was interesting to House, a few of the nurses and doctors observed them, as if still thrown by the mere idea, not to mention physical evidence of their relationship. The elevator ride itself was uneventful, aside from the mischievous glances he through at his girlfriend, which she blushed to accordingly.

The department was deserted when they arrived, and both went about their normal morning activities. Cameron took House's mail to sort, and began making coffee. House went to his office and began playing his GBA.

"Where's House?" Chase asked, entering the department hurriedly. Cameron pointed off to the office then watched curiously as he walked briskly to the office door. "House, Foreman needs to see you in the lab." Chase told him. House sighed, got up and left his office, hoping it was an interesting case.

When House had left, Allison looked up from the mail. "Did we get a case last night?" She asked curiously.

"No."

"Then what's Foreman in the lab for?" Allison asked, slightly put off.

"Nothing. I needed to talk to you." Chase admitted.

Cameron rolled her eyes. "He was in his office, he couldn't have heard you talking to me anyway." She pointed out.

"Do you remember the night we were together?" Chase asked nervously, hands fidgeting.

"Vaguely... I was high as a kite, remember?" She reminded him in annoyance.

Chase sighed, "Listen, Allison, I know you're with House 'cause you have some unholy idea that he is God-like, but understand, please understand. He's not God-"

"Chase, do you have a point behind this, or do you just _like_ sounding like an idiot? Come on, I know you're not this dumb. You've been-"

Chase silenced her with a hurried kiss to her lips. Allison's eyes flew open in complete surprise, frozen momentarily from complete shock before she aggressively pulled away. "Are you insane!?" She yelled.

"Strange, I was about to ask the same thing." Two pairs of eyes turned to see House standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest with Foreman standing beside him. "Care to explain, Chase?" House asked, eyes glaring intensely at his subordinate's.

TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: I do not own House or its characters.

Chapter Nine: How Bad Could it Be?

Foreman watched in slight amusement as House brought his cane down onto the table with a sharp SMACK, making both Chase and Cameron jump at the sound. The neurologist knew two things to be truths at that point. 1.) Chase was _fucked_ and 2.) The intensivist was going to need surgery to remove the cane House was about to shove up his ass.

"Well?" House asked, his cane lying forebodingly on the table in between the younger doctors. "What's going on, Dr. Chase?"

Chase stood up, for once not fleeing in terror, and squared his shoulders to his boss. Their eyes met and suddenly Chase felt a rush of perspiration build on his forehead. "I-" He took a deep breath, "I was..."

"Kissing House's girlfriend?" Foreman supplied, getting a wide eyed response from Chase.

"No!" Chase responded in alarm, "I was.. Uh..."

"Kissing my girlfriend?" House repeated Foreman's supplementation. "And now you've been caught, she thinks you're an idiot, and now, so does the rest of the department. "Foreman," he turned to the neurologist, "go to my office, top drawer on the left of my desk. Bring me the contents of that drawer... Discretely."

Foreman did as he was told and went to House's office. In the top drawer on the left he found something that made him want to laugh insanely, but instead tucked it into the folds of his lab coat and went back to House.

Chase bit his lip nervously as he waited for whatever was coming to him. "Dr. Cameron, a permanent black marker if you will?" Allison retrieved the marker and handed it to him. "Dr. Foreman... Please restrain Dr. Chase." Foreman tackled his co-worker and held him down.

With a gasp of surprise, Chase watched House tear a long piece of silver duct tape from the roll and almost yelled when it was smoothed over his mouth. Next something was being written on the tape with the marker before Chase was finally released.

"That stays on until lunch, otherwise I'll suspend you for sexual harassment." House said, grabbing his cane. Chase mumbled something from beneath the tape. "What was that?" Chase mumbled again. "Write it down you moron."

Chase grabbed a pen and paper. -How am I suppose to see patients?-

"You're not." House grinned. "You're going to go stand in the elevator until lunch." Foreman and Cameron's eyes widened in disbelief as Chase's widened in fear. "Next time you want to kiss my girlfriend you'll remember this elevator ride."

Chase left the room, covering his mouth until he could see what had been written on the tape. When he reached the elevator he stood close to the reflective surface of the inside and read the message backwards. "-I Will Keep My Mouth to Myself-" He groaned. This was going to be a long day.

(A/N- Okay, I swear, I don't normally do this! I almost _never_ put AN's in the middle of a story, but I just would like to say one thing: Yes! The phrase "-I will keep my mouth to myself-" WILL fit on duct tape smoothed over someone's mouth. I had the unpleasant experience of actually testing the potential of the above statement fitting by putting a piece of duct tape over my OWN mouth and writing that just for the sake of being realistic... P.S- Yes, it DID hurt when I pulled it off. That is all, sorry, now back to the story!)

-25 Minutes Later-

Cuddy burst into the diagnostics department, Chase in tow. "Hey!" House shouted at the intensivist. "Back to your elevator!" Chase back peddled out the door and back towards the elevator.

"House! What is going on here!?" Cuddy all but shouted.

"Dr. Chase is learning a valuable lesson in department politics. Namely... That I am God and I will smite him by all means of smiting that I can come up with when he deliberately tries to mess with me." House said relaxedly from his chair. "Chase sexually harassed a co-worker and I am teaching him a lesson."

"House, you stalked Stacy for months!" Cuddy pointed out.

"Ah, but I am not an underling like Chase, I can get away with much more lewd behaviors than him." He pointed out.

Cuddy groaned, "What did he _really_ do?" She put her hands on her hips. "And does it have anything to do with Dr. Cameron?"

"Yes it does." House stood up. "He kissed Dr. Cameron and slandered my reputation."

"House the only reputation you have is for being an ass."

"As you can see, I need no slandering at this point."

"House!"

"Lisa, relax. He's only got... oh..." He glanced at the clock. "Another three and a half more hours of riding the elevator. Then he can take off the tape and life will go on." He picked up a stack of charts. "Besides, we have no patient so I'm not diminishing our staff in a crisis."

"Why couldn't you just put him in the clinic like any other department head would?" She groaned.

"That wouldn't teach him a lesson, merely make him realize that whenever he gets pissed at me he can kiss Allison and run away to the clinic. He must _learn_."

"Okay, Yoda." Cuddy sighed and walked towards the door. "Just don't cause too big of a scene?" She begged before leaving.

Foreman and Cameron waited until Cuddy was well past ear shot and out of sight before they began laughing.

------

House entered the elevator where Chase stood, an embarrassed expression written on the features not covered by duct tape. "You know," House began, looking at him through the reflection of the shining surface, "Allison is an amazing lover, I can see why you don't want to let her go." He saw the darkening features of Chase's expression. "In fact, if I was in your position, I would fight tooth and nail to get her back, maybe even risk my career for it." Chase was glaring now. "However... If you pull a stunt like that again, I'm not going to just embarrass the hell out of you." He turned and looked straight into Chase's eyes, "I won't fire you either, but I will make this job so unbearable that you will wish that I would." The elevator dinged and House left the elevator. "You can take the tape off now." And he walked away.

-------

"We need to get Chase laid." House sighed, pulling Allison closer to himself as they relaxed on the couch in his office, eating a pizza they'd ordered. He reached for his bottle of Vicodin and popped a pill dry as she reached for another slice of pizza.

"What's that going to do?" Allison asked, eating the crust first before she peeled off the cheese to throw onto the other side of the pizza box.

House rolled his eyes, "Women are so oblivious."

"Please enlighten me, oh, all knowing one." She ate the saucy bread of the remaining pizza.

"When you don't get fucked enough, you think too much about the last person you screwed, and they become all you think about... We get him laid and he stops thinking of you."

Allison picked up the discarded cheese and rolled her own eyes, "Men are such pigs." She muttered before eating the glob of cheese.

"Oink, Oink."

"And who do we get to screw Chase?" Allison licked her fingers clean from grease.

"... We could buy him a hooker..."

"Hmm..."

House laughed, "That was a joke."

"Why?" Allison pouted, snuggling closer against him and intentionally shimmying her hips against his.

House leaned over her and grabbed a piece of pizza off the box on the floor. He held the slice over the napkin he'd draped over her shoulder as he ate. "We'll go out to the bar this Friday and see if we can't con some poor, unsuspecting girl into sleeping with him."

"That's just cruel. I was stoned when I slept with him and I still didn't enjoy it."

"Could it possibly be because you knew he wasn't me?" House asked.

"...I doubt it." Allison pouted, grabbing a napkin and wiping the saliva and remaining grease from her fingers. "Greg, I need to go to my apartment tonight." She said, dropping the napkin on the box.

House's brow furrowed. "... That's fine." He said, a hint of confused curiosity in his voice. "Spaghetti tonight?"

"No, just me, not us." She answered.

"All right." House shrugged. "Any particular reason, or are you afraid I'll seduce you again tonight?"

Allison laughed, seeing him chuck the crust of his pizza over her shoulder and onto the box. "Yeah, there's a reason, but don't worry. I'll pick up Kane from your apartment on my way home from work."

"Why the sudden change in plans? You were all set to stay over tonight earlier today."

"I got a call, I need to be home tonight." Allison bit her lip, grateful House couldn't see.

House picked up the napkin on her shoulder and wiped his fingers clean before wrapping his arms around her, "And who called you?"

"Doesn't matter."

House quirked an eyebrow and turned her in his arms to look at her face. "Hmm." Was all he said.

"What?" She fought the urge to bite her lip again. He suspected something, she could tell.

"You're hiding something." His eyes narrowed.

Her face reddened, "No, I'm not." She crossed her arms.

"Hiding something you think is embarrassing." He pushed a stray hair from her face.

"Am not." She said, fuming slightly.

"Ah ha!" Allison could have sworn she saw a light bulb go off over his head. "You're on your period, aren't you!?" Her face went beet red. "I knew it!"

"Shut up." She gave him a slight shove.

House cackled a little bit. "This is adorable!" He laughed, "You're flustered about your period!"

"You're a bastard." She pouted, turning from him.

House curled his arms around her once more, "I'm just joking." He murmured against her neck, planting apologetic kisses along her nape. "I'm just amused that a doctor like yourself is so embarrassed about it." He couldn't wipe away the little smirk on his lips. "It's almost as if you've resorted back to a middle school girl, kind of adorable really."

Allison shook her head, "I need to get back to work." She stretched as she sat up. "See you later, hopefully with a patient." She stood.

"Aw, don't I get a kiss? Or are we being too shy for that now too?" He smirked wickedly as she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

---------

House limped around his apartment, bored and maybe just a little lonely. Not like he was feeling unable to function without her, but in the few days they'd spent together, he'd grown accustomed to her constant company. Between their exchange of illness, which he now believed to be contracted from the evil cafeteria worker who'd made their sandwiches and then been sent home moments later, House missed having her lounging around him like she had nothing better to do.

And, yeah, he wanted sex.

But the sex wasn't what made him limp back and forth between his living room and bedroom closet, to glance at a lonely blouse that hung on one of his hangers, or to his bathroom where her spare toothbrush was currently residing. Even Kane's squeak toy managed to cause a pang of loneliness. Until that moment, House didn't realize how... deserted his apartment was.

With an annoyed sigh, House sat at his piano and poured himself a glass of scotch, which he drank with two Vicodin before refilling the tumbler. He let the glass remain sitting atop his piano, its presence a reminder that he was alone like the glass. For another tumbler didn't cozy up next to it, a partner in a relaxed drink. It was only just a lone alcohol, offering some respite from realization of solitude.

Pushing back the key cover, House let his hands decide what to play. It took him a moment, as a powerful chord rang in his ears, and his fingers glided down the keys, for him to recollect what song it was his fingers had chosen. He recognised the suite as it washed over him, his throat clenching as a tension built in his chest. Sarabande XI...

He continued the piece, the strong, forceful hand of just the first few measures compelling him to continue into the softer, lulling music before the crescendo hit and pulled him back into a fierce production of the suite. When the music ended, his hands did not leave the keys, his fingertips still absorbing the vibrations that reverberated from the strings in the instrument's belly.

As the deep, resonating of D still rang clear, House allowed the dying note to bleed into an improved lament of his loneliness. He'd never felt so enthralled with an unvoiced song before, but as his fingertips caressed the keys, and the song made its voice heard, he suddenly didn't feel so alone. He heard her voice in the strings, and the percussion of the notes he struck could easily be the booming bark of her loyal mutt.

When the song was ended, he wondered if he'd ever hear it again. That was what he hated about improving, the idea that something so moving and true could potentially never be heard again. But that was what made music so emotional and idealistic. Music was life, a moment that you will always remember, but not the details. An improved song was a movie in your head that had no words, only how it made you feel. And so with that, House removed his hands from the keys and took the tumbler in his hand and downed another glass of scotch.

Standing up, House went to the kitchen and grabbed a carton of left over Chinese. He'd TiVoed some shows, and with nothing better to do, he could put a mighty large dent in the recorded episodes.

Finally settling onto the couch, he was about to turn on the Tv when a knock came at his door. With a weary sigh, he was half tempted to ignore it, after all it was almost two in the morning, and it was probably a neighbor coming to complain about his piano playing. Instead, he got up and answered the door despite the chances of a yelling match.

The heavy scent of smoke nearly overwhelmed him when he opened his door. Allison was standing at the threshold, tired, bloodshot eyes staring at him. She smelled like she'd just come from a bonfire, the reek of smoke rolling off of her skin, clothes and hair like a bad perfume. Ash covered bits of her face, and Kane sat at her feet, smelling just as badly of smoke and sneezing relentlessly. The poor mutts fur looked singed in places and she was panting heavily.

"House, my apartment burnt down."

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: okay, after this chapter, I say fuck disclaimers, by now, you have the idea that I don't own anything, and I'm sick of trying to come up with something witty at the beginning of each of my new chapters. 'Cause if my normal routine holds true, this could end up running for a while and I'll be damned if I have to say I DON'T OWN A DAMN THING every fucking time... Sorry, I swear this much in real life too :S

Chapter Ten: Don't Read Too Much Into It...

House stared in almost complete shock and disbelief at Allison's statement. Her apartment burnt _down_? For some strange reason it seemed so surreal that her home would all the sudden go up in flames and land her on his doorstep when he'd just been wishing she'd drop by, even if to just say 'Hi'. He even began to wonder if in some weird way he'd caused her home to burn down, like he'd sent out some weird psychic pyrotechnic vibe which magically set her apartment aflame. After entertaining the idea a moment longer he finally leaned to the side to admit Allison and Kane entrance to his home.

"It burnt down?" He asked, still disbelieving.

"No, Greg, I just missed you so damn much I smeared ash on my face, lit my dog on fire and came running to you with a complete lie." She said sarcastically, going to his kitchen and filling Kane's water dish and a glass for herself, both mutt and master downing the water without a breath.

House shook his head, "I'm sorry, that came out weird. I meant to say _how_ did your apartment burn down?" He rephrased.

Allison flopped onto the couch in exhaustion, "Some idiot in the apartment beneath and off to the right of mine left their stove going when they left for their graveyard shift. Caught something on fire and blah blah blah."

"Are you all right?" House poured her and himself a glass of scotch before he sat next to her and offered up the drink.

"Yeah. Luckily, Kane woke me up." She rubbed her eyes, which were stinging from smoke and fatigue, with one hand as the other took the glass he offered. Still disoriented, Allison took the scotch down in a single gulp and placed it on the coffee table.

"Why don't you take a shower?" House downed his own drink and stood up to help her off of the couch. Allison nodded with a yawn and made her way to the bathroom. "Is there anything you need?" He asked as she walked away.

Allison sighed, rubbing her eyes again. "I don't even know right now..." She felt confused and disillusioned. At that moment she couldn't even remember why she'd told House she was going home that night.

House nodded in understanding, "You shower, I'll see if I can't air out your dog." He took Kane's collar into his hand and lead her into the kitchen. She was still sneezing relentlessly as House grabbed a pair of scissors and went about cutting out pieces of burnt fur. Kane let out an agitated groan that clearly said, -I really don't appreciate this.- but fell to the floor in defeat as House continued chopping off her fur.

Slightly amused by the dog's reaction, House stood up and retrieved a bottle of Febreeze, his alternative to actually doing his laundry. Kane gave a half hearted grunt when he began spraying her with it, but behaved until he'd sprayed her five or six times.

As he set the bottle on the counter, he nearly jumped out of his skin when not only his cell phone went off, but his pager, home phone and _Allison's_ pager all went off. Grabbing his home phone, he barked, "What!?" As he grabbed his cell phone and saw Cuddy was on that line.

"House, it's Wilson! I just saw the news, Allison's apartment burned down, have you heard from her? Is she all right?" James asked a line of questions.

"She's fine, hold on." He answered his cell phone, "Cuddy, Allison's fine, she's here. Okay... Okay... Yeah, just call us if you need us tomorrow." He hung up the cell phone and looked at his pager. It was Foreman's number. "Yeah, Wilson, I'm still here." He dialed Foreman's number on his cell phone while he went to retrieve Allison's from her purse, one of the few items she'd salvaged from the evacuation of her apartment. "Allison's here with me... No, you can't speak with her. She's in the shower... No shit Sherlock, she smells like smoke. I just had to Febreeze the hell out of her dog too..." The cell phone patched through to Foreman. "Foreman, it's House. Allison's fine, she's here with me, now go to bed... Yes, I know you weren't sleeping, how else could you have been watching the news?" He rolled his eyes. "Wilson, will you shut the hell up!? She's fine, go to bed!" He hung up the land line. "Okay, Foreman." He finally found Allison's pager, it was Chase. "I've already spoken to Cuddy, she said you guys would call us if you need us tomorrow. Okay, now leave me the hell alone." He hung up his cell phone. Debating about telling Chase, House determined he might as well make a quick call just so Allison's pager wouldn't be going off all night. "Chase. It's Houe, Allison's fine, she's here. So calm the fuck down." He hung up the cell phone finally and looked down at Kane. "What do you want?" He asked darkly.

Kane licked her chops, and House dumped the rest of the plain white rice from take-out Chinese onto a plate for her. She gobbled it up and drank the rest of the water in her bowl. Limping to the bedroom, House grabbed a t-shirt from his dresser and went to the bathroom. He knocked loudly, so that she could hear him over the running water.

"What?" She called over the spray of the shower head.

"I brought you a shirt to sleep in." House replied, opening the door and putting it on the sink and seeing a Walgreens bag lying there. She must have went there first before coming to his apartment.

Allison peaked her head around the curtain, and a tired smile came across her face. "Thanks." House nodded at her. "I'll be out in a minute." She told him before ducking back behind the curtain.

House changed his clothes and curled up in bed, Kane jumping up and cozying herself up on his feet. The dog still smelled a little bit like smoke, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when she'd first arrived. Soon Allison came out of the bathroom, hair damp and fatigue dragging her to a slow progression to the bed. She swaddled herself in the blankets and yawned wide. "Goodnight." She murmured, eyes shutting and quickly drifting off to sleep.

Wrapping his arms around her, House fell asleep with her in his arms.

-------

She hardly wanted to open her eyes, they still felt sore and irritated. Even the slightest bit they cracked open stung as light filtered between lashes and lids. Her eyes were the least of her worries though. Her body was sore too, between the stress of the fire and her escape, her attempts to get Kane out, resulting in the loss of some fur, she was wiped. And then of course, being on her period just made the whole rest of the scenario just that much more wonderful.

She groaned. She didn't want to move. Wait, why was she moving?

"What are you doing?" Allison grumbled, feeling herself being pushed onto her stomach.

"Checking the damage." House replied, pulling up the tail of the shirt she'd slept in until he'd pulled it off of her body, leaving her only in a pair of white panties she'd bought at Walgreens the night before. He immediately registered the wide, but shallow scratches on her arms. "Did you carry Kane out of the building?" He asked, dabbing anti-septic onto the scratches.

"Mmhmm." She yawned. "She's no rescue dog, she got scared."

"Well, at least she woke you up." House said. "You've got some first degree burns."

Allison shrugged. "No worse than a sunburn." Yawning once again, she closed her eyes and let House finish his examination. She knew she had a few bruises from being jostled by escaping tenants, and some smoke inhalation, because she had a chest rattling cough every once and a while, but other than that, she'd live.

A knock came at the door and House left her in bed to answer it. He limped to the door, Kane following him closely, looking hungry. Opening the door, House was greeted by James Wilson. "Hey." Wilson waved.

"Hey, yourself." House yawned, leaving the door open as he walked to the kitchen to feed Kane. "Why aren't you at work?" He asked.

"I left for lunch to check up on Allison. She doing okay?" He asked, sitting at the kitchen counter.

House nodded, scooping food into the dog's dish. "She's sore, still tired. You know."

Wilson nodded, "I'm glad she's all right. So how many people called you last night?" He smirked knowingly.

"I'm considering making my phone number unlisted."

"It is unlisted, Greg."

"Then double secret unlisted." House smirked, then glanced at the hallway to his room. "Wow, look! It moves!" He pointed at the slow moving shape of Allison walking towards the kitchen, once again dressed in his shirt.

She couldn't help the slight smirk she felt curve her lips. "Go to hell, Greg."

"Hey, Ally." Wilson waved. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my apartment caught fire last night and destroyed all of my possessions."

"You need to stop hanging out with Greg, you're turning into a cynical and humourless individual." Wilson smirked.

House and Allison shrugged simultaneously. "So, Wilson, anything new at the hospital today?" Allison asked.

"Everyone's talking about the fire." Wilson shrugged. "A bit of gossip, nothing unusual. You guys still don't have a new patient. And, oh! Ally, I brought you a newspaper so you can start looking for a new apartment." James stood up and pulled a newspaper from his back pocket.

She accepted the paper and set it on the table. "Thanks." She went into the kitchen.

House looked at his friend darkly, "Well, you better be hopping on back to the hospital, Jimmy. We don't want everyone thinking you've been hit by a truck." Wilson quirked an eyebrow at his friend. "What?" He grunted at his friend's look.

Wilson looked into the kitchen and whispered very quietly, "Do you not want her to leave?"

"What would give you that impression, Jimmy?" House asked with wide eyes.

Wilson's eyes narrowed, "Whatever." He got up, "Bye, Allison." He called to the kitchen as he walked to the door and left.

"Greg, do you have some clothes I can borrow?" Allison asked as she returned with a bowl of cereal. "All of my stuff was burned in the fire, so I need to go out and buy some new clothes and stuff." She sat down at the counter and began eating.

"Yeah, you can totally borrow my low rider jeans and halter top, but I'm sorry, I don't think we wear the same bra size." House sat next to her.

She laughed, "I think a pair of jeans and a t-shirt will be fine."

"Fine, I can tell you don't like my clubbing clothes, you don't have to hide it." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Allison's pager went off and she got up to check it. "Can I use your phone?" She asked. House pointed to the cordless that was lying on the coffee table. She dialed the number and waited, "Hey, Colin... Yeah, burned to a crisp... Oh, would you!? That would be great... Okay, see you in a bit." She hung up and looked at him. "Colin's coming to meet up with me and go shopping with me."

"You weren't lying, he really is gay." House laughed.

"Do you want to come with?" She asked.

"I think I proved to you quite a few times over the course of the last few days, that I am _not_ gay." House pointed out.

She put her hands on her hips, "There's nothing gay about shopping. After all, you shop... For scotch..."

He laughed, "Not for women's clothes though."

She sighed in defeat, "So... Can I borrow some clothes?"

"Whatever is in the closet is fine." He waved her off. As she went to his bedroom, House looked down at Kane, who up to that moment had been sitting next to his chair. "Looks like it's just you and me for a few hours."

Allison came back, wearing his blue-jeans that were torn in the left knee and his 1968 Cream concert shirt.

And _damn_ did she look good!

"Colin should be here in a minute to meet me."

"He knows where I live?" House quirked an eyebrow.

"No, I'm meeting him at the cafe down the street. We meet there a lot." She explained, grabbing her purse and throwing the beeper in it. "Beep me if you need me." She said as she planted a kiss on his lips and ran out the door.

A few minutes after she'd left, House looked down at the dog that still hadn't moved, "So... You wanna go for a walk?"

-----

"Hey, babes!" Allison spun around to see her friend. "I'm so sorry about your apartment!" He enveloped her in a hug.

"Thanks."

"Where's Kane?" He asked.

"With Greg."

"Ooh, she likes him?" He asked, giving her a nudge with his shoulder. Allison grinned and nodded. "Good sign, Honey!"

Allison rolled her eyes, "I doubt Kane can sense romantic compatibility." She pointed out as they walked down the sidewalk.

"Well, how are _you_ feeling about the compatibility?" He asked as they rounded a corner.

With a long sigh she thought about it. "I don't know."

"What's stopping you from knowing?" He asked as he pointed at a store. Allison nodded and shrugged at the same time. "Does he like you?"

"That or he just wanted to get laid really bad."

Colin rolled his eyes at that, "Sorry, Hun, but going by what you've said about him, I seriously doubt he would have done half the things he has for you if it was just for a quick fuck."

"I know..." She pouted, "But he's so frustrating sometimes!" She cried out to no one in particular. "It's in his nature to disguise what he feels with sarcasm and lewd comments."

"Well, start from where we left off. So, what happened after the fire?" He asked as they entered a store. "And you totally need to find a bra first, 'cause seeing your twins bouncing around is starting to freak me out."

Allison laughed before relaying the story to him.

"He cut out Kane's burnt fur and febreezed her... Well, I'd have to say if he's paying that much attention to your dog, he's totally into you... That or he's into beastiality." He scrunched his brow together. She laughed.

"Okay, fine, he obviously likes me, but I feel like things are going REALLY fast. I mean, we've only technically been a couple for less than a week and suddenly I'm in his apartment, temporarily, mind you." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but you guys have known each other for a little over a year now, and that should account for something." Colin vollied as he walked between racks and held up a cute pinstriped button down and handed it to her at her nod.

"True, but he hasn't been in a real relationship since Stacey. And then he tried to get her back, practically succeeded and then ran away from it. I just don't think he's the type for a committed relationship."

"Um, from what you've told me about this Stacey chick, she was probably just a rekindling for what once was." Colin pointed at a rack of pants.

Allison followed him. "But-"

"But nothing, Ally, he's got it for you, and you know it, so why are you running? For the last year and a half, all I've heard about from you is 'House this, and Greg that' and damn it, stop trying to self-destruct the relationship now that you have him. If things don't work out, you'll know it was because it wasn't meant to be, not because you were trying to get out before you got hurt. And when things _do_ work out, you are totally buying me dinner at that new sushi bar."

Allison smiled at her friend. Taking a deep breath she took in the courage she'd been pushing away. Colin was great at many things, but one thing he was best at was stomping her down from second guessing herself.

--------

House was sitting on the couch, Kane's head resting on his leg as he surfed the Tv. On their walk he'd managed to find a pet shop that also did dog baths, and had finally gotten the smell of smoke out of her fur. He now had a soap smelling mutt rather than a smoke smelling one.

And if he'd known Allison was going to be out shopping all day, he would have gone into work, rather than sit around doing nothing. At least if he'd gone into work he could have sat around doing nothing while bugging the hell out of Cuddy.

With a groan he picked up the phone and ordered delivery from a burger and fry place. Kane looked at him in annoyance, "What?" He snapped at the dog's look. "Oh, what do you know?" He slumped back into the couch. "She does like me still, right?" He asked the dog. "I mean, obviously she _likes_ me, but she doesn't want to stick around. She took the newspaper _with_ her, that must mean she wants to get the hell out of here. Unless, she's afraid she's bugging me... Hmm, I didn't think about that. I mean, I'm not the most open person in the world so I guess she could easily see that as contempt for her invading my home. But how can I show her I don't mind that she's here? It doesn't have to be a permanent thing, but at least she wouldn't have to feel rushed about finding a place to stay. Maybe I could make her dinner... No, that would make her leave even quicker... Maybe I could have someone else make her dinner and I could say I made it. Or maybe I could just open my mouth and tell her she doesn't have to find a place right away instead of sitting around here like an idiot talking to a dog that will never say anything back..." Kane raised her head and licked his face. "Thanks, you're a good listener."

Kane settled her head back in his lap and released a sigh.

TBC


	11. Chapter 11

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: omitted

Chapter Eleven: Circling the Wagons...

Allison made it to the elevator, needing to set down a handful of bags so she could press the call button. Reflecting on it, she probably shouldn't have bought so many things right away, because now she had nowhere to put them. Most would probably have to stay in the bags until she was out of House's apartment.

The elevator finally arrived with a ding and she dropped all her bags on the floor of the lift as she hit the floor's number and stood in silence. As she neared her floor she picked up the packages once more and walked to the door.

"Anything left on the rack?" House asked as Allison came into his apartment, ladened with bags.

"Potentially." Allison dropped them on the floor, flopping onto the couch where Kane proceeded to sniff her. "Mmm, Kane's coat smells clean. Did you wash her?" She sat up long enough to look at House.

"Close, I took her to a groomer and got her in for a bath." House came in with a couple of beers and set them on the coffee table. Allison grabbed the dark brown bottle and opened it, taking a long swig.

"Thank you." She dropped her head in his lap.

"For the beer or the bath?" He asked grabbing his own beer and mimicking her previous action.

"Both." She sat up once again and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. House cradled her head and kept her lips to his as he deepened the kiss. When he finally allowed her to pull away she smiled at him.

"So... Did you have fun shopping?" He tried to start a conversation, though an edge of nervousness peaked into his voice. House nodded, "I'll clear some space in my closet and dresser for your stuff."

Allison sat up quickly. "What?"

He paused for a moment, baffled ever so slightly, "I'll clear some space in my closet and dresser for your stuff?" Quirking an eyebrow, trying to figure out what had caused such surprise in her, House even began questioning himself. Had he just accidentally initiated a strange "woman code phrase" that he was unaware of? If so, he feared what he'd just committed to in the lost translation of womenese.

She wanted to ask him if this meant he wouldn't mind her staying, but fear of being wrong stopped her. After all, it wouldn't be completely out of place for him to allow her to hang up some clothes and, at the very least, not clutter his apartment with bags. Then again, glancing around, his apartment was already pretty well cluttered, and a few extra bags probably wouldn't make any difference either way.

"Thank you." She finally settled on the only appropriate response.

House released an internal groan. 'Thank you' was too neutral of a response. Now he wasn't sure if she really wanted to stay, or if she just didn't want creases in her new clothes. If she had said something along the lines of: 'No, I can just leave them in the bags. No use unpacking.' Then he would have known she really didn't plan on staying. Or if she'd said: 'Do you mind if I put a shoe rack in the closet too?' Would have been a dead give away that she wanted to stick around. But thank you!? How the hell was he suppose to get a subtext out of 'Thank you'!?

House took another swig of beer to give himself more time to think. It wasn't fair! Why should he have to be the one to ask the question? Why couldn't she ask if she could stick around for a while? He cursed in his own head.

Allison fought off biting her lip. How was she suppose to ask if he minded her taking her time on finding an apartment? It wouldn't be fair for her to ask to continue intruding on his life. But would he ever say it? It was House! He said whatever he pleased, but would he say what he wanted when it came down to her living their for a while? She needed help!

Maybe he should just wait and watch how things worked out for a couple more days.

Maybe she should just wait and watch how things worked out for a couple more days.

-------

It was Friday.

It was Friday, technically two days living with House, and Allison _still_ had no idea what the hell was going on. She needed help. Professional help!

"Wilson." Allison practically whined as she went into the oncologist's office.

"Allison." James nodded, gesturing to a chair. "What's up?"

She flopped into the chair, "I don't know!" She let her head fall onto his desk with a slight thump. "I don't know what's going on!" She lamented.

"Greg?"

"Who else?"

"What'd he do this time?" Wilson asked.

"NOTHING!" She practically screamed. "I don't know if he minds me staying or he's just trying to be polite!"

"Ally, House isn't polite, it's against his genetic coding." He pointed out. "Have you asked him if he minds you staying for a while?"

"No. It's not my place! I can't just ask if I can stay!"

Wilson shrugged, "I did."

"Well you weren't sleeping with him." She pointed out.

"True, but shouldn't that make it easier?"

"No! Moving in with each other is a huge step. I can't just accelerate the process because some idiot in my building burned down my apartment." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Is there some kind of time frame or formula things are suppose to happen in? Like three dates equals sex, a month of dating equals a weekend trip away somewhere, and six months of being a couple equals moving in together?" Wilson asked, leaning into his chair.

"Well... Yeah, isn't there?" Allison asked.

"If so, then you and House have an accelerated time frame. You weren't even dating and you slept together." He pointed out.

"That was different. We've known each other a while now. Almost two years."

"So, shouldn't that be applied to your formula?" Wilson clasped his hands together. "Ally, you know who you really need to talk to?"

"A psychiatrist?"

"Stacey."

Allison sighed, "I did. Last year."

"Then you know how quickly they moved in with each other, and just how long it lasted."

"And just how bad it ended."

Wilson waved a dismissive hand, "What are the odds of him having another infarction, you going against his wishes, and him hating you for the rest of all eternity for it?"

"He doesn't hate Stacey. He still loves her." Allison pushed the self doubt card again.

And Wilson immediately flushed it out. "He may still love her, but only the parts he loved before they fell apart. But he also hates her. It's not hard to hate someone you love, in fact, it's probably easier." He waved her away. "Now get out of my office."

Allison sighed and got up from the chair, heading towards the door. As she walked the halls she began to contemplate her options. Maybe she could just stick around and not look for an apartment, and see how he reacted. If he started asking her continuously how the apartment hunt was going, she knew she should leave. If he didn't or hardly ever asked, she wouldn't make an effort. It was completely childish and deceitful. So when it came to House, it was her best bet.

-----

"There you are!" House spun around and groaned, "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Sorry, but I don't have time to enjoy the show today." He said, gesturing to Cuddy's asset amplifying top. "However, if you'd like to tape it for me, I'll get to watching it after Ally goes to sleep tonight." He spun around, looking at a chart.

"You finally have a patient again?" Cuddy fell into step with him.

"Yeah, slim pickings, but it's something to do... Now scram." House limped as quickly as he could, damning his leg for its lameness. "Would you stop chasing me!?" He finally shouted.

"Trust me, it's not much of a chase when you can keep in stride the whole time."

"Now that's low." House pouted like a pre-schooler. "Fine." He handed her the chart. "17 year old female. She suffered a concussion a couple of days ago, but is now experiencing confused stupors, numbing of lips and gums."

"Neurological damage or drugs. Teens experiment with drugs." Cuddy shrugged.

"Toxicology report came back negative. No drugs." House tapped the clipboard to demonstrate the lack of drug findings on the report. "And Foreman is checking on her now for neurological damage."

Cuddy sighed. -------------

"I agree with Cuddy."

"There's a surprise." House muttered over the brim of his coffee cup and taking a gulp. He spat the cold coffee back in the mug, "Ghu, who made this?" He looked at Chase accusingly, "Was it you?" Chase said nothing. "Answer enough. And no, Foreman, Cuddy is not right, there are no drugs in the girl's system."

"She's a gymnast." Allison pointed out. "That hit to the head could have caused neurological damage. CN7 could have been damaged, causing the numbness, and the blow could cause confusion and dizziness."

"No." Foreman shook his head. "This isn't nerve damage. CN7 damage would cause drooping of her facial features, which she is not displaying."

"Still, a hit to the head could cause part of the damage. Maybe a sub-dermal hematoma restricting blood flow to the area is causing the numbness." Chase offered.

"No discoloration, and no swelling. But try and contact her coach and see if she has been displaying any unusual behavior." House ordered, as he wrote the symptoms on the board.

Foreman stood up as well and walked towards the door, "I'm going to run another toxicology report."

"I already told you-"

"I know, I'm not going to test the usual suspects though. Lots of chemicals fly around gymnasiums. Maybe it's something more obscure." He shrugged and walked out of the room.

Allison stood up and walked over to House. "Hey." She leaned her head onto his shoulder. "What are you thinking about?"

House sighed and leaned his head against hers. "I'm thinking that I really hope to get laid again soon." He put an arm over her shoulder. "How about you?"

"Ditto."

"Then what are we waiting for?" House asked, turning to face her completely.

"For you to solve this case." She replied.

"Why don't you solve it for me?" She grinned and kissed his lips, groaning as he pulled her tighter against him. Suddenly his pager went off and she tensed in his arms, "Ignore that." He murmured against her lips, but she pulled away and he sighed in defeat. Glancing at his pager he looked at her, "Our gymnast just went into a coma."

----

"Jaundice." The one word House supplied made three pairs of eyes look at him. "Eyes and gums are now jaundice and she's in a coma."

"Liver failure." Chase groaned.

"Not necessarily." Foreman's brow furrowed. "If we can find out what's causing the liver's strain, we can stop it before it advances."

"And hopefully the liver can repair itself." House nodded. "Chase, what did you find out from the coach?"

Chase shrugged. "Nothing. She's a great gymnast. All of her teammates think she's really calm and relaxed lately. She was a little nervous earlier in the season, had a couple of anxiety attacks, but it's been five months, and she's mellowed out.

"That's it?" Allison asked in annoyance. "A seventeen year old doesn't just suddenly develop liver damage."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe, like many teenagers, that she's a binge drinker? Plenty of teens get wasted on the weekend, drinking way more than their bodies can handle. And where do they end up? The ER, or in a casket 'cause they were stupid and tried to drive so mommy and daddy wouldn't find out." Chase shouted.

House stood with his arms crossed over his chest as his subordinates began yelling at each other. If any case could get a fire lit under their asses, it was one involving teenagers. On one side, they wanted to believe the kids were innocents, on the other, they wanted to believe they were corrupt little bastards that were only good at hurting themselves. So far, only Foreman had yet to take sides.

"How about this?" Foreman finally included himself in the dispute. "What if the toxin isn't something she realizes is toxic? Something a friend gave her? Something her coach gave her? Something really innocent that no one knows is hurting her."

"Like what?" Chase crossed his arms over his chest.

Foreman shrugged, "I don't know, she's a competitor. Maybe to help with nerves? Chase said she was anxious before, but became centered five months ago."

Allison thought for a moment, "That causes liver damage."

"Numbing of the lips and gums." House gestured to the board.

"And a coma." Chase leaned against the table. "Shit." He straitened up and left the room.

Everyone stared at his retreating form then looked at each other. "Did he just have an epiphany and not tell us?" House gestured to the void space that Chase once occupied. Everyone shrugged and just waited until the other doctor reappeared a half an hour later. "Well, care to share your findings?"

"Her mom says she's been having blurred vision, and was complaining about it the day she hit her head." Chase informed them. "Also, she used to be a bit of an insomniac, but the last couple of months, her mom said she's been going to bed really early and sleeping straight through the night."

"So, she stopped drinking caffeine and sugar before bed." Foreman rolled his eyes.

"No." Chase shook his head. "I think I know what this is."

"Well, then spit it out!" House rolled his eyes. "Because your suspense isn't killing me, it's killing her."

"Kava-Kava."

"Riiight."

Chase sighed, "It's a plant that you make tea with. It psychoactive, and she probably just took too much and been taking it for too long. Once it flushes out of her system, she should be fine. Push the IV fluids and she'll come out of it in the next 12 hours or so."

"And you know this because?" Foreman gaped in disbelief.

"Kava is grown on south pacific islands."

"Like Australia?" House hinted, crossing his arms. "Well, congratulations, Kangaroo boy, your ability to just happen to be born on an island that interacted with our case made you seem intelligent for a few minutes there." He turned around and went into his office.

Foreman looked at Chase's annoyed expression and shrugged, "Hey, maybe he'll stop saying you're from England for a while."

-Later-

Okay, so sitting in a bar with his co-workers wasn't really House's idea of a good time, but he'd promised Allison he would attempt to get Chase laid, for the sake of her well being. So here he was, watching the Aussie get hammered as Allison talked up some poor, unsuspecting soul at the bar. If only the woman knew what was coming to her.

Nursing his beer, House observed Foreman laying down the charm on a girl at a nearby table. He had to hand it to the neurologist, he had technique. Wilson and Cuddy were sitting next to him talking about some exhibit at the art museum, while he wasted away from sheer boredom.

Allison finally returned with an attractive red-head, who immediately sidled up next to Chase. Mission accomplished, Allison sat next to her boyfriend and reclaimed her own beer. "How'd you pull it off?" House asked her.

"Said a word most women can't resist."

"Which is?"

"Accent."

House laughed a bit and shook his head, "Can we go home now?" He begged, the hour spent in the bar making him want to gouge his eyes out with a rusty spork. That being if sporks could actually rust, considering he'd only seen plastic sporks at fast food restaurants. And with that thought he realized his mental function and clarity had been depleting since he'd entered the DNA cesspool of a bar that he was ashamed to know Allison attended regularly. His IQ must have dropped a few points every minute he'd been held against his will.

"Yes, we can go now." House jumped when Allison answered his question, his own inner monologue of his complete and utter contempt for the bar making him forget the entreaty had actually been spoken. "And do... something." She hinted with a husky breath against his ear.

"Now that's what I like to hear." House stood up, "Wilson, pay our tab." He grabbed his cane and walked towards the door, Allison's arm wound with his free one.

Wilson grumbled to Cuddy, "Great, now I'm not just paying for his drinks, but his girlfriend's too!"

Mounting House's motorcycle, the two drove back to his apartment, feeling much like they had the first night they'd been together. Her hands drifted over his chest, fingernails scratching the thick leather of his jacket in demonstration of her desire.

However, when they arrived at the apartment complex, neither wasted time, clothes being unbuttoned to save time once they'd reached the front door. She'd already begun pulling the front of her shirt open when they'd made it to the door and entered.

House was playing catch up in the nudity department as he hastily kicked off his shoes as Allison un-did his pants. She shrugged out of her shirt as House made quick work of her skirt. Soon she was pinned to the floor, House kissing her lips and grinding against her as he fished for his pants to find a condom.

"I'm back on task with the pill, now just fuck me!" She ground out, grasping his hips with her knees and pulling him closer. House complied, quickly thrusting into her, scarcely savoring the feeling of her bare and around him. Allison's back arched and she choked on a sudden intake of breath as his thrusts slid her roughly against the hardwood floor.

House took a deep breath as he distributed weight in his arms and left leg, trying to hold her in place and not lose any strength behind his thrusts. Finally he managed to place an arm just above her shoulder, while the other hand took leverage beside her chest. Allison clenched her legs around him tighter, propelling his motion as she clung her arms around his neck. "How's that?" He panted, grinning at Allison's moaning response. "Hmm, didn't quite catch that." She moaned again, louder. "One more time?" He was smirking widely, as perspiration beaded on his forehead. Allison raised her head and nipped his jugular, grinding her hips and gasping.

"Gre-eg." She gasped his name as he withdrew completely and slammed back in. His ministration left her shaking and on the edge, and yet he repeated it a couple of times before resorting back to his previous rhythm and finally offering her release. "I want you to come inside me!" Her eyes squeezed shut as she felt herself plummeting over the edge, and at her exclamation, House came with a deep groan, his cock beginning to spasm and quake within her as he climaxed.

Panting for breath, House collapsed beside her on the floor. Allison laughed a little as she curled onto her side and let her hand drape over his chest. "What are you laughing about?" House asked, eyes drooping shut as he held her arm, fingertips drumming against her flesh.

"Kane's looking at me." Allison shook her head.

House craned his neck, and sure enough, Kane's head was peaking over the back of the couch, looking more annoyed than anything. "I think we woke her up from a nap."

Allison rested her head on his chest as they lay side by side on the floor. His hands slid along her body, fingertips grazing sensitive flesh as she let her eyes shut in fatigue. "Let's get to bed. We have a whole weekend to play catch up." He sat up and then stood with minimal difficulty as he used his cane for support. Allison followed him with a displeased groan, and they made their way to the bedroom.

As they curled up under the covers, his arms wrapped around her, he wondered if now was the time to ask her to stay with him. He worried though, that after the trist on the floor right inside the entrance of his home, would make her believe it was a request in the heat of the moment. Maybe it could wait another day, after all, they did have the weekend, and maybe a better opportunity would present itself.

But what if she began looking for an apartment over the weekend and found one she was interested in? Or worse yet, what if she just really didn't want to move in with him and recoiled at the offer? It was a big step, and he wondered if he could try and accelerate it any more than it already was.

"Allison?"

No response came, and he realized that in his internal controversy, she had fallen asleep.

"Goodnight, Allison." He said softly in her ear before he fell asleep as well.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: omitted

A/N: 3rd Harry Potter book pg. 428 (hard back version) first full paragraph of page mis-spelled Dumbledore's name (Dumblefore). Check it out.(Just my way of saying- "Typos happen".-Andi Chapter Twelve: The Store is Now Closing

"Wow." Allison flopped her head against the pillow. House chuckled. "Ooh, don't stop!" He laughed again. "Why are you stopping!?" She nearly screamed.

House took her other foot in his hand and began kneading it. "Just switching feet." He replied, after having spent the last fifteen minutes on the first one.

"I did not expect this from you." She curled her toes as he applied a hard pressure with his thumbs and ran them up the arch of her foot.

"Well, no neurological damage detected from here."

"Why are you doing the Babinski's test on me?" Allison mumbled, in a state of foot massage euphoria.

House shrugged, "Something to do?"

"Uh huh." She just shrugged it off so as not to distract him from his task.

He planted a kiss on her big toe as he finished up her foot, leaving a trail of open mouthed kisses as he ascended her leg. She anticipated his mouth on her sex, but was disappointed when he moved outward along her hip and continued up to her lips.

"Why, hello." He grinned at her.

"You're mean." She pouted.

He quirked an eyebrow, "Am I?"

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck, her knees doing like wise around his hips. She could feel his cock against her stomach, hardening as she rolled her hips and rubbed against him. Planting her feet firmly on the bed, Allison flipped him on his back as she rose above him, knees on either side of his body.

House looked at her a moment, "Okay... I'm impressed by that." He said in awe as he watched her kiss down his chest. "What are you up to?" He asked, playfully, curling a lock of her hair in his fingers as he cocked his head to the side and observed.

Taking his hardening erection in her hand she lightly stroked it before she lowered her lips, her breath hot and eliciting tingles down his spine. "Going down on you." Allison replied heatedly before enveloping the head of his cock with her lips.

House choked on a moan, making it sound more like a whimper as he clenched his eyes shut. It was the first time she'd given him head and he wasn't sure if he was surprised or not to find that she was pretty damned good at it.

Back arching, House gritted out a short string of curses as he felt blood rushing every which way in his body, but not nearly enough to his brain as he began to feel light headed. He managed to open his eyes for a moment to watch his cock disappearing and reappearing between Allison's lips, but shut them just as quickly so he wouldn't lose it right then and there.

He could feel her tongue tracing sensitive veins as she lowered her mouth on his member. Tiny shots of electricity shot up his spine and made his shoulder blades draw together. "Fuck, Allison, I'm coming." He choked out as his back arched. She mumbled something around his girth and continued sucking him. With a strangled shout, House came in her mouth and when he finally managed to open his eyes, he saw Allison lying between his legs, head rested on his left thigh.

Crawling up the length of his body, Allison curled up beside him. He could feel her hard nipples pressing against his arm, the sensation making him shiver a bit. She was so comfortable in her skin, walking around the apartment naked, like she were in her own home, no one else around. It seemed second nature to come home and see her walking around with a towel on her head, skin still dripping from a shower and wearing nothing else.

Turning onto his side, House kissed her jaw line, palming her breast to flick his thumb over her taut nipple. Her eyes narrowed to tiny slits as a pleased smile stretched across her lips. Watching her face as his hand began to travel lower, he rested his palm on her stomach and raked his nails gently against her skin. He saw her hips roll almost unnoticeably out of the corner of his eye and smirked. Slowly his hand wandered lower until it cupped her fully. His fingers now slick with her juices his hand began to circle.

Allison groaned as his arm snaked around her, cupping her breast with his free hand, "So, what made you hotter? The foot massage or giving me head?" House nipped her ear lobe after whispering his question in her ear.

"Both equally." She clenched her teeth together as she grasped at words.

"Mmmhmm." His middle finger dipped shallowly into her before returning to circle her clit while his other hand massaged the breast it was cupping. "Is what I'm doing to you making you wet?" He asked, letting two fingers slide inside ever so slightly. Her back arched and she choked on her answer before nodding vigorously. Allowing his fingers to sink deeper, House squeezed her breast, pinching the nipple with his thumb and index finger. Allison's back arched and she yelped his name.

It was a side of him she hadn't seen yet in bed, the side that was dominant at the hospital, but hid away during sex. The Jekyll and Hyde of Gregory House. The considerate, passionate side and the unreserved rough side. And as he hooked his fingers on her g-spot, she hoped that the unreserved side would come out to play more often, whispering huskily in her ear about everything he wanted to do to her. She shivered as he raked his nails over her breast, leaving four trails of red flesh in their wake. His other hand stimulated her clit with his thumb while striking the g-spot with his index and middle finger. His mouth was working her neck intently with hard love bites. There were too many sensations to keep track of, and her mind only reeled further into confused bliss as her muscles began to spasm around his fingers and her back arched off of the bed, a cry issuing from her lips.

He planted kisses over her sweating face as she panted for breath, her body still racked with tremors. His fingers wove into her hair, curling the locks in his digits. "You alive?" He asked jokingly, planting a kiss on the corner of her mouth.

"Mmhmmm." She curled onto her side before straddling his hips to sit on his stomach. "I take it back. You're not mean."

"Glad to hear it." He wrapped his arms around her hips.

"I'm hungry."

"Chinese, Mexican or Italian?"

Allison rolled her eyes, "That's it." She said, getting off of him and walking to the closet for some clothes.

"And where are you going, ma creme petite?" He asked in a cheesy french accent.

"The grocery store, I'm sick of there being nothing to eat in this apartment but beer, scotch, and cheezits." She answered, finding a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"I _like_ cheezits." House whined, climbing out of bed as well.

"Are you coming with me?" She asked in surprise as he began dressing.

House nodded, "If I don't, you'll come home and all that _will_ be in this house is soy and whole grain foods." He said pulling on his boxers and jeans.

She laughed and shook her head as she grabbed her purse and pulled her hair back.

-A Grocery Store-

"So _this_ is what a grocery store looks like." House said quietly in Allison's ear as they entered a local market. She laughed a little and grabbed a grocery cart.

"Do you wanna push?" She asked. House hooked his cane on the hand bar and leaned against it as he followed his girlfriend through the produce department.

"What the hell is that?" House asked, pointing at the green and white vegetable in her hand.

"Bok Choy, it's a type of cabbage." She explained, putting it in a plastic bag so water wouldn't get everywhere.

"It looks like celery from some far away galaxy." House replied, waiting for her to get ahead of him before tossing the bok choy back in its bin.

She put a few green peppers in the cart next and glared at him. "Where's my bok choy?"

"Maybe its home planet called it back for a report." House shrugged.

"Greg, the bok choy is _not_ an alien spy from another planet." Allison put her hands on her hips. "Go get it." She pointed back to the section.

"But I don't _like_ cabbage." He whined.

Allison sighed, it was like shopping with a four year old. "Greg."

"Fine, I'll get your stupid bok choy." He pouted, grabbing his cane and retreating back to the cabbage section.

When he returned, Allison stared at him, "Greg, that's celery cabbage."

"What's the difference?" He shrugged.

Allison groaned and took the cabbage and went back herself for the bok choy. When she returned, House was nowhere to be seen. "Greg?" She called out.

No response.

Fuming ever so slightly, Allison went to hunt down her boyfriend. "Greg!"

"What?" He was standing in the cookie aisle.

"You're going to be the death of me." She sighed, rubbing her eyes.

House wrapped his arms around her, "Oh, I can think of some pretty nice ways to kill you, ma cherie." He replied, letting his hands run down her back as he kissed her cheek.

"Uh huh." She sounded mad, even though a small smile was touching the corners of her lips. It was then that she noticed only one hand was on her back. When she hunted down the other she found it sneaking packs of oreos into the cart. She made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat, "You're hopeless." She took the cart from him and began pushing down the aisle and back to produce.

House hobbled after her, "What else could you possibly need in there!?" He called out to her.

"I'm making a tossed salad, you dork."

"I am not a wale penis." Then he thought about it, "Unless you're saying I have a cock the size of a whale's, in which case, thank you. I'm flattered."

Allison rolled her eyes, "I thought you were a nephrologist, not an etymologist."

He shrugged. "Just because I can properly use the english language doesn't mean I'm an etymologist." Allison grabbed a cucumber, "Are you trying to tell me something?" He asked, grabbing the cucumber from her.

"Yes, Greg, I'm dumping you for a cucumber." She seized it from him and put it in the cart as she grabbed a hydroponic tomato.

"Well, I better tell him how demanding you are in bed." He picked the cucumber out of the cart and began pretending to conspire with it.

She couldn't help the laughter that built inside her as she continued to shop. He was a nuisance, but he made up for it with his amusing charm. She threw a pack of strawberries in the cart.

"What's this!? Did you just put something in the cart that is actually good!?" House gaped, tossing the cucumber back in the cart and grabbing the strawberry package.

She looked at him, "I'm letting you keep your oreos, aren't I?" She pointed out.

"Yes, but I put them in there. You had yet to add anything remotely good."

"You like tomatos."

"They're hydroponic."

"They taste the same!"

"But... They're hydroponic."

"They're on sale." She grumbled, tossing a head of lettuce into the cart and leaving the produce department.

"No carrots?" He asked.

"Do you want carrots?" She was shocked that he was actually asking for something healthy.

He shrugged. She sighed and grabbed a bag of carrots.

"Not those kind. I want baby carrots, with ranch dressing." She threw the whole carrots back in the bin and grabbed a little bag of baby carrots.

"There, are you happy?" She asked in annoyance.

"I still want ranch dressing."

"We're not to that aisle yet." She pointed out.

"Why not? Do we have to shop in some kind of order?" He asked.

"It has been known to be more time efficient." Her brow knit together.

House sighed and followed her, "Can I have the cart back?" He asked.

"Are you going to run off again?" Her eyebrows rose.

House hung his head, "No." Allison pushed the cart away from herself and followed along side him. "Want some crackers?" He asked, pointing at one side of the aisle. She shook her head. "Canned soup?" She shook her head again. "Dried beef?" She stopped. "You're not serious, are you?"

"They have dried beef?" She looked at the jar with the shriveled slices. "That's just sick."

He laughed and they kept walking. "So what are you getting in this aisle?" He finally asked. She stopped and picked up a big box of cheezits and he grinned. "Thanks."

House had no idea how much time had passed as they navigated the store, joking and just enjoying each other's company. As they rounded into the dairy department he realized he'd completely forgot about being hungry, and just wanted to be able to spend time like this with her more often.

"Allison?"

"What?" She glared at him, "Do you have a problem with 2 percent milk too?" She asked as she put the gallon in the cart.

"Will you stay with me?"

She froze. Was he asking what she thought he was asking. "What?"

He bit his lip nervously. It was too soon. She was freaking out. She'd gone rigid when he'd asked. She was freaking out. Or was he freaking out? Maybe he'd just surprised her. After all, he'd just asked her to live with him while they were standing in the middle of the dairy department of a grocery store. That would surprise someone... Right?

"Will you keep living with me?" He repeated after taking a deep breath. "Will you stop looking for an apartment and just keep living with me?"

Allison stared for a moment before his words sunk in all the way. A grin spread across her lips, excitement coursed through her body. Flinging her arms out, she wrapped them around House's neck and kissed him. "Yes!" She was practically jumping up and down. "I'll stay!" Allison said, genuine happiness in her words.

House curled his arms around her waist as she kissed him again. He didn't want the moment to end.

"Attention shoppers, the store will be closing in five minutes. Please bring your final purchases to the front cashier. And as always, we appreciate your shopping with us." Said a cheery voice over the intercom.

Well, so much for the moment never ending.

Heading towards the front of the store, they quickly grabbed a few more items before making it to the check out lane. The cashier was a teenage girl with red hair. She looked way too cheerful for someone at work, and greeted them with an almost agitating amount of energy.

"Hi, how are you tonight?" The cashier asked as she began ringing up the groceries at a fast rate. House was transfixed at the speed.

Their groceries were rung up and paid for without further delay, and soon they were driving back to their apartment.

Allison glowed as she thought of it as _their_ apartment.

"Greg?" She said as they took the bags out of the trunk and into the building.

"Hmm?" He replied as he stabbed the elevator call button with his cane.

"... I had fun tonight."

House grinned at her. So had he.

TBC


	13. Chapter 13 lucky

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: omitted

A/N: Okay, sweetgreuy, the story behind the whale penis. In whaling, a "dork" is a whale's penis. Though in today's standing we just refer to a dork as a nerd or geek. However, going back far enough its actual term is just a crude expression for penis. Also, someone said they couldn't imagine being in that good of a mood that close to closing time. Hehe, (Raises Hand) that would be me :D. I work at a grocery store, (And have since my sophmore year of high school), pays the monthly tuition payments as I work on my associates degree in applied sciences. Anyway. I actually AM in that good of a mood! The secret? Lots and LOTS of caffeine :D. That and wonderful acting lessons from years of drama club!

Chapter Thirteen: Star Light, Star Bright

"Okay... So you make dinner and put it in little plastic containers where I can't get to it?" House asked grumpily as she ladled the soup she'd just made into a plastic bowl and capped it.

"No." She laughed putting the grilled cheese, which she'd made with jalapenos and cheddar, into little baggies and setting them inside a book bag. "We're going to the roof."

"Why?" He watched her put a couple of spoons in the bag as well. He grabbed a bottle of scotch and two tumblers.

"Because it's a blue moon tonight." She put on her coat and grabbed a couple of blankets. He covered himself with his own coat as they walked out the door and to the elevator.

"So?" House hit the button for the elevator with his cane.

Allison looked at him, "I want to look at it."

"We could have looked from the window." He pointed out as they got in the elevator.

She pouted, "It's not the same."

House sighed, "So we're going to the roof to look at one celestial body and that's it?"

"Well, if there was less light pollution then maybe we could've looked at more." She replied looking at the illuminated numbers that revealed what floor they were passing. When they reached the top they had to walk up a flight of stares to get to the roof, but when they'd walked into the crisp October air she practically skipped to the center of the roof.

Watching her lay out the blanket, House sat down and kicked off his shoes before covering the two of them with the other. Their rooftop picnic began with a shared bowl of soup as Allison stared up at the moon.

"You shouldn't have made me dinner." House sighed, scooping up another spoonful of the soup.

"Is it bad?" She asked, tasting it again and trying to figure out what was wrong with it.

"No. But now I don't think I'll ever be able to eat take-out again. You've ruined me." He explained as they finished the soup and broke out the grilled cheese. At the first bite, House nodded, "Yes, ruined me for good. I've never had a jalapeno grilled cheese before."

"Isn't it amazing!?" She said in awe.

"Amazing is a bit extreme, it is just a sandwich." House's brow knit.

"Not the grilled cheese." She laughed and pointed up. "The moon!"

House looked up and shrugged.

"Pshh." She swatted his chest and continued eating as he poured himself a glass of scotch. "You have no aspect of what it's like to feel so small and insignificant." She rolled her eyes and poured her own glass.

House looked at her a moment.

She saw him looking at her. "What?" He shook his head and Allison quirked an eyebrow. "What?" She asked again. Allison knew they were no longer talking about cosmic balance. There was a deep seeded ache in his voice, something he had never expressed in words, and she knew it wouldn't be expressed this evening either. Nothing to do with astronomy had caused him such a childhood conflict, it was something much closer to home.

"You don't have to explain to me now." She said softly, even though she knew he wouldn't have. It was just an assurance that she wasn't going to push for an explanation; that she was accepting of his need to take his time as he unraveled his long history. "But you know," she began softly, feeling his weight on her and being comforted by it, "the stars and the moon and the planets revolving around us aren't meant to make us feel inferior. They want to show us that there's so much more to be known, and that even though we deal with shit right here and now, there's something beautiful happening right over our heads, and we're a part of it despite everything that's horrible and near us."

Her words were soft but strong. He could hear the hernest motives behind them as she expressed how she felt intact with the cosmos. Maybe that was why she could be an atheist and not worry about the consequences of heaven and hell. She already felt like a part of the bigger picture, and she didn't need an afterlife to prove her connection with it. Her ties with outer space were like his ties with music. Something bigger and more complex, a way of expression without words, but just feelings.

Food forgotten, House covered the rest of her body with his and kissed her. Allison felt free out here, and he wanted to show her he did too. He felt her arms wrap around him as he let her tongue roll against his, a steady rhythm building in their hips as they rocked together through their clothing. He grabbed the tail of her shirt and pulled it up, dropping it beside them on the rooftop. She mimicked his actions with his shirt before letting him unclasp the hooks of her bra and add it to the pile of clothing.

She sighed his name as their chests pressed together, their nipples hard fromt he cold air, their foggy breaths mingling together in white clouds. He was pulling down her pants and trying not to brush the blanket aside in his movement as he worked as quickly as he could at removing her clothes beneath their protective cover. Soon he was pressed flush against her once more, his hands gliding a trail up her hips as he pressed against her needfully.

"I can make you see the stars." He said breathlessly as he pressed into her. Allison gasped, clenching her arms around his shoulders as he filled her slowly. The crescendo was lifelong, a moment followed only by another uprising, never slowing, only growing louder and accelerated. A song in itself that House wondered if he could ever mimic on the keys of his piano.

She could feel him moving faster than she ever remembered him going before. Wonder filled her as she arched her back, not hearing the sounds of traffic below them or the sounds of their bodies moving together. Only silence that let her look into the second full moon of the month and cry out in ecstasy as she throbbed and pulsed around him. And for a moment, she did see stars twinkle around the glow of the moon.

But it wasn't over. He was still thrusting against her, the power of his hips pounding against the insides of her thighs, rocking her against the blanket covered rooftop. She was still shaking as he took her knees in the crooks of his elbows and dove deeper into her. Rolling her hips, Allison quickly fell into a second orgasm, crying again at the increased intensity.

Finally House gave in, thrusting into finality, as he came inside her and collapsed to her side.

Shaking from sudden cold and the aftershocks of her climaxes, Allison embraced her lover, burying her head in the crook of his shoulder. "Greg," she said softly in his ears, "I think I saw a whole new set of constellations."

-----------

House awoke in the middle of the night, the silver glow of moonlight casting a shadow over the foot of his bed that was strangely Allison shaped. Focusing his vision on the silhouette, he realized it indeed was Allison and Kane sitting in a chair by the window, Kane's head resting on her master's knee. There was something cold and sorrowful about her expression.

"Ally?" House said quietly so as not to startle her too much, but she didn't even jump, merely turned her head and looked at him.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" She asked softly, but not quietly enough to hide the nasally dampening of her voice.

"Why are you crying?" He got out of bed, limping to her completely nude.

She tried to discretely wipe her eyes from the stray tears. "My apartment is gone." It seemed odd that it was finally hitting her, nearly a week after the fire and she was finally realizing that all of her possessions were now gone. She thought solemnly of her lost wedding album and pictures of her family. Her late husband's life momentos now gone forever, the only trace of him remaining in the world was her memory of him.

House curled into the overstuffed chair with her, pulling his distraught lover into his lap. She burrowed against him, her cheek resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her and planted light kisses against her hair as his fingers trailed down her spine. "You're tired. You need to sleep." He said softly in her ear.

"Why did it take so long for me to care?" She asked as another onslaught of tears wove wet paths down from her pooling eyes.

He held her tighter. "Because, you've been busy. Moving in with me is pretty difficult to do. It exerts a lot of energy adjusting to my home." He explained and smiled at her laugh that became choked on a sudden sob. "Okay, so it took about a week for reality to strike, but still, at least it _did_ hit you. It's not like it's been a couple of months and you went 'Oh wait, where's that thing I bought back in May... Oh yeah, that's right! It burned up in that fire!'." She laughed a little again. "There was just too much going on at once and you didn't have time to fall apart." He assured her and began getting out of the chair. "Now, let's get back to bed. Kane looks ready to bite you if you don't snap out of this." He stood up and offered her a hand.

Awoken again hours later, House saw Allison's head resting on his chest as she hummed, "You know," he whispered quietly, "you're turning into an insomniac." He heard her laugh. "What are you doing?" He finally asked.

"Listening to your heart."

"Lubb Dubb." He muttered, petting her hair and making her laugh again.

"It's a good rhythm, like something out of a song." She sighed, nuzzling her face against his chest.

"Depeche Mode." He yawned wide, curling an arm around her shoulder.

"Somebody." She nodded, yawning herself.

House began humming the song and she soon drifted into sleep, still listening to his heart beat. As her breathing became rhythmic, House closed his eyes and fell back asleep, wondering if he'd be awoken again that night.

-------------

With a large stretch, Allison woke up to find herself alone in bed. She could hear the shower running in the bathroom, and Kane was lying at her feet looking a little annoyed. "What?" She glared at her dog. Kane raised her head and continued staring at her. "I didn't mean to get all angsty last night." Allison said defensively, but Kane continued her cold gaze nonetheless. "Okay, so I went a little bipolar last night, sue me." Allison got out of bed and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

House peeked around the shower curtain to look at her. "Want to join me?" He asked as she brushed her teeth, breasts swaying as she scrubbed ruthlessly at plaque.

Spitting out the foam, Allison rinsed her tooth brush and stepped into the shower, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a morning kiss. "Sorry about last night." She said softly, barely audible over the water's spray.

House shrugged. "No big deal." His hands slid down her damp sides. She squirmed a little, the tickling sensation making her giggle a little. She grabbed the shampoo and began lathering his hair as he planted kisses down her neck. He continued running his hands over her sides as she massaged his scalp, only stopping when he went to rinse the soap out and then he began lathering up her hair. "Kane was pissed this morning when I walked her."

"You already walked her?" She asked, wanting to look at him, but keeping her eyes squeezed shut too keep soap out of them.

He worked his fingers against her scalp. "Yeah." He said nothing else as she went to rinse her hair out.

Bathing each other had become second nature to them as they began running liquid body wash over the other's skin. However, there was nothing mundane about the ritual as hands lingered over the more sensitive areas of their partner's body, or the stolen kisses under the hot spray of the shower head. There was something loving between the gentle caresses and the careful cleaning they administered upon the other.

When their shower was over, House went to the sink to shave his face as Allison sat on the side of the tub to shave her legs. Another routine in their mornings.

House was becoming more and more aware of the increase in domestic activity, and thought that maybe, just maybe, they'd been living together before he'd finally asked. After all, they'd had this early morning dance the last week. It had manifested itself the morning after the fire. A shared shower, a partnership in hygiene, and then going their separate ways to shave.

A pattern was developing, and neither one felt threatened by it.

--------

"Greg!" A knock was sounding from the door, and House didn't want to get off of the couch to answer it. It was Wilson, he could tell by the voice alone, no need identifying the whiney pitches in the call of his name to know it was his oncologist friend.

"Don't you ever answer your door?" Allison grunted, getting off of the couch and heading to the door. "Hey, Wilson." She smiled upon opening the door.

"Hey, is Greg here?" She opened the door wider to admit him. "Thanks." He said as he stepped inside. "I brought your prescription over." He shook a bottle of Vicodin. "You forgot to pick it up on Friday." He said, sitting down in a chair cornered from the couch.

"I didn't forget it." House replied wrapping an arm around Allison as she sat back down, not taking his eyes off of the television.

"Oh?" Wilson saw a prescription bottle lying on its side on the coffee table. Without thinking he picked it up and shook it, then when he heard the immense clatter, opened it curiously. "Greg..."

"What?" House grunted, still not taking his eyes from the Tv.

"Greg, this bottle's still half full."

"So?"

"You filled it on Monday."

"So?"

"So, you go through two bottles a week, sometimes three." Wilson pointed out.

House didn't bother with a vocal reply, merely shrugging.

"Greg?" Allison looked at him.

"What? My leg hasn't been hurting lately." He replied with another shrug.

"Ally, when was the last time he popped one." Wilson asked, almost sounding concerned.

"Last night while we were grocery shopping."

Wilson stared. "House went into a grocery store?" He gawked disbelievingly at his friend.

House grabbed the Vicodin from Wilson and popped one as he got off of the couch and went to the bedroom without another word. Allison watched him leave, feeling a pang. They'd hurt his feelings.

"Way to go." Allison glared at Wilson before she too stood up and went to the bedroom. "Greg."

"What?" House was lying on the bed, throwing a baseball up and catching it. Kane was lying on the foot of the bed, watching the ball rush up in the air and smack into House's hand. When Allison entered, Kane made a grunt deep in her chest that simply said, -You're mean, mommy.-

"I'm sorry." Allison curled onto the bed, stilling his arm once he'd caught the ball again.

"Ally, I know I'm an addict." House looked at her with a sarcastic expression on his face.

"Don't do that." Allison sat up and glared at him. "Don't look at me with that look."

"How do you want me to look at you, Ally?" House sat up as well and his expression went blank. "Do you want me to smile at you and say, 'It's okay, baby, I know I'm a pill popping bastard, and that you accept me for it. Don't worry, I'll start drugging myself again.' Is that what you want me to say?"

Allison shook her head. "No." Her eyes were building with tears. "I'm sorry." She tried to embrace him, but he shrugged her arms off of him and stood up, limping to the other end of the room but not leaving. "I wasn't surprised. I've noticed you haven't been using the Vicodin as much lately. You think I didn't notice that the man I've been sleeping with hasn't been opening a bottle of drugs every ten minutes like clockwork the last couple weeks? Do you think I'm oblivious?" She put her feet on the floor, sitting up completely straight. "Wilson was the one who was surprised, not me." She stood up finally and walked to him. "I was proud of you, but I also knew that you'd scoff and pop a Vicodin right in front of my face like you just did in the living room. I know a few things about you, Greg. And one of the things I know, is that you don't want someone praising you or making note of your progress. You work through things yourself, and say fuck it the moment someone tries to encourage you. You do whatever you want because you want to, not for someone's approval."

House hung his head as Allison walked towards the door. He wanted to say something. He wanted to apologise. It wasn't her he was angry at. Hell, he wasn't even really angry, not even at Wilson. But she had been the brave one. She'd come to him while he was vulnerable and he'd lashed out because of it. Thinking about it, wasn't that what a relationship was about? Being able to be vulnerable around someone? She'd come to him when her apartment had burned down, when she'd been the most vulnerable. She'd let him hold her and consol her when she'd been crying last night, and she'd shared something beautiful and intimate when she'd made love to him under the blue moon. Now had been his chance to show her he could be that open, and he'd lashed out at her.

When he raised his head to say something, he choked on his words. Tears were already dripping from her eyes, and she'd already opened the door to leave. By the time he'd worked his voice around the dry knot in his throat she was already out of the bedroom door and he was left with only Kane.

The dog growled at him from her spot on the bed as if to say, -You bastard, I should rip open your trachea for that!-

"You turncoat." House grumbled.

TBC

A/N- yes, a little more angsty than this has ever been, or even more so than I've really ever written, but aside from being a mostly humor/romance writer, I'm also a realist. So bare with me. I guarantee a roller coaster, (mostly because I myself only have a slight idea of where this is leading), but believe one thing: The bad only makes the good that much sweeter. -Andi


	14. Chapter 14

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: omitted

Chapter Fourteen: Alien Sex Slave...

House entered the living room without warning. When he'd reached Allison and Wilson, he raised his cane and pointed it at his friend. "You, leave." Wilson said nothing as he grabbed his coat and walked out of the apartment.

No time to respond to the sudden intrusion, Allison crossed her arms over her chest and looked anywhere but in his direction.

Something was happening, and happening quick.

"It's not easy," he began, sitting down on the couch and not looking at her either, "to realize and come to terms with the idea of someone knowing me how you do." He folded his hands together thoughtfully, "Stacey didn't. In fact, she was the exact opposite. Always trying to intrude in my methods... Like you used to." He looked at her, but she was still staring out the window. "You've changed since we first met." He looked back at his folded hands. "And it's time for me to realize that I'm changing too."

At those words she finally looked at him. Something about him had just shifted, and she tried to distinguish what it was. Nothing was outwardly different about him, aside from fleeting eye contact. But that _was_ the difference. He was still vulnerable. He hadn't taken the time to recollect himself before he'd confronted her. He was still raw.

Standing up, she walked over to him and sat beside him. Her legs draped over House's lap as she pulled his head onto her chest. Neither said anything more as he wrapped his arms around her waist and they stayed that way for an eternity of minutes.

When the moment ended, he raised his head and looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry." She nodded and kissed his lips softly.

"Let's go out." Allison said softly before climbing out of his lap.

"Where?" House asked, standing as well. She shrugged. "Kane would probably enjoy a good walk." He suggested. She nodded in agreement and went to get her shoes.

---------

Despite the apologies, tension was still in the air as the pair walked through the park, the nosy german shepherd leading the way, tugging at Allison's arm.

Conversation seemed difficult. Neither one knew how to break the ice after their first real fight. It was something they'd be grateful to just forgive and forget, but neither felt brave enough to start the conversation of nonchalance.

Something needed to happen to spark the chance they needed, but it couldn't be instigated by either. It was then that Kane stopped walking to sniff a spot of ground. However, Allison, oblivious to the current actions of her dog due to her distractions with House, tripped over the dog's body and fell to the ground.

House wanted to clasp his hands together in thanks for the distraction as he watched Allison tumble to the ground. "That was graceful." He said with a playful smirk.

"More graceful than you are in an entire day." She replied, accepting the hand he offered.

"Now that was mean." He said, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Just in case you decide to make another nose dive for the ground, I'll just keep you close." He explained, squeezing her to his side for a moment.

Allison laughed and let her head drop against his shoulder as they continued walking. Kane dropped to a nice and easy pace beside them and licked Allison's hand that held her leash.

As they walked through the park, House nuzzled his lips against her scalp and planted tiny kisses against her hair. "You know," he began as they took a corner, "we should do something together."

Allison grinned saucily at him, "I do believe we have done many _things_ together, Greg." He laughed at that and gave her side another quick squeeze against him. Raising her head from his shoulder she looked at him, "What did you have in mind?"

House shrugged. "Don't know... I thought you might have some input."

She shrugged as well, "I don't know." She dropped her head against his shoulder once more, "That benefit for James's department is coming up soon, and I still have no clue what the oncology department has up their sleeves for a theme."

"You have to admit, that Vegas night was pretty damn cool." House replied as they finished the circuit around the park and began heading back to the apartment.

"Yeah, until you pulled all of us away-"

"And saved a kids life." He interrupted innocently.

"And saved a kids life." She agreed. "Still..."

"Still what?"

Catching his eye again she asked sweetly, "What went through your head when you paused and stared at me that night?"

House stopped walking and turned her towards him, "I was thinking," he began, wrapping both arms around Allison and allowing her to support some of his weight, "that I wanted to pull that pretty, pink dress above your hips, bend you over the table and fuck you until you fell to the ground."

Allison stared at him a moment, suddenly feeling his weight much more heavily against her. "We need to get home... Now!"

-----------

It had been a while... Okay it had been Friday when they'd last rushed the apartment door, half dressed and hands all over each other. But each time they had been impatient enough to begin their stripping in the elevator it had been nighttime and they hadn't had a confused german shepherd watching them undress. With inclusion of those variables it had indeed been a while.

Upon entering the threshold of the apartment, Allison dropped Kane's leash and kicked off her shoes as House pushed her towards the table that resided between kitchen and living room, almost making her trip while she removed her shoes. She didn't have time to complain as he quickly spun her around and bent her over the table. However, complaining was far from her mind as he lowered her pants and underwear and quickly pressed into her.

She was already wet, allowing him to slide in with no restrictions. The soft groan that emitted from his lips as he came in contact with her slick entry made her body tingle. House hadn't lied when he said he'd wanted to fuck her until she fell to the ground. He was thrusting hard against her, hitting points that made her body jerk and roll her hips against him. There was no stopping his enthusiasm as he pounded harder, eventually needing to lean over her and support his weight by bracing his hands against the table. Allison cried out when his leverage gave him a harder and deeper thrust, the intensity making it unbearable, to the point that her legs began to shake.

"Oh..._fuck_!" She moaned into her arm, eyes squeezing shut, "More... harder." She panted her command. House let a hand slide from the table to rest on her hip, pulling her against him as he drove forward. The collision was setting sparks behind his eyes, and her clenching walls made him feel weak. When she came, muscles spasming around his cock, he couldn't control the rapid bucking of his hips as he came inside her.

Knees going slack, House fell atop her, panting for breath as she shook and gasped for air as well. Both sunk to the floor and watched each other try and catch their breath.

"It's good to be home." House said between breaths, a lazy grin crossing his lips. Allison nodded in agreement and curled up beside him. Kane trotted over to the half naked couple on the floor, her leash still clipped to her collar. "I believe the beast wishes to be untethered." He said as he reached up and unclipped the leash, tossing it aside. Kane fled back to the bedroom and let the couple be.

"I'm hungry." Allison stretched out on the floor.

House nodded in agreement. "Take out or do you want to cook?" He asked, hoping she offered to make dinner.

"Take out."

House pouted slightly. "Okay." He grabbed the wire that connected to the charger for the cordless and tugged it hard, sending the phone and its cradle hurdling at them. Allison laughed at House's methods and picked up the phone that had surprisingly not broken a piece off.

"What do you want?"

"Italian."

"Memory dial 2." He replied, using his cane to shuffle a stack of menues towards them from the top of the table he'd just bent his girlfriend over. He handed her the menu for the Italian restaurant that was on his phone's speed dial.

She ordered for both of them and they remained sprawled out on the floor until the food arrived.

House, being the most dressed, pulled his pants back up and answered the door as Allison covered herself, but remained on the floor. When he came back with the food, she looked up at him from the ground. "Let's just have a floor picnic... I don't want to move." She batted her lashes at him playfully and House laughed, falling once more to the floor, but leaning against the wall this time.

"Your penne and pesto, m'dear." House handed her a styrofoam container and a plastic fork.

"Where's the breadsticks?" She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. Sighing he reached back in the bag and pulled out another container which he'd tried to hide. "You breadstick whore." Allison glared at him playfully.

"Yes, I sell myself for breadsticks... It's a shameful business, but damn if I can't get through the day without a couple of their yummy little selves inside me." House snagged a breadstick and bit the end off of it. "See? It's an addiction now."

Allison laughed and took her own breadstick. "You want a beer?" She asked standing up.

"I thought you didn't want to move." He pointed out.

"That sex deserves a beer afterwards." She replied heading towards the fridge.

"A girlfriend who lets me drink a beer after sex?" His eyes narrowed. "You fooled me! You're not a human woman, you're an alien sex slave from the planet of Bok Choy!" He pointed at her accusingly.

With another laugh, Allison grabbed a couple of beers and sat back on the floor next to her boyfriend. "Yes, we grow and harvest bok choy and then use them as alien probes to decide where to invade. Many probes were lost to beastly predators."

"You need to stop using the word probe." He took his beer and opened it.

"And _you_ really need to let go of this bok choy thing." Allison said with raised eyebrows.

"I'm still creeped out by the idea of that cabbage colonizing in my fridge." House took a swig from the bottle. "Who knows what it will conquer!? The milk? The orange juice? The entire free, civilized world!?"

"Okay, stop, you've gone too far." Allison swatted him.

House hung his head, "I can't believe you let that go as long as it did." Allison laughed.

"I can't believe you could make that go on as long as you did." She replied, crawling onto his lap and giving him a plastic forkful of penne and pesto. He licked the fork clean before kissing her lips. She could taste the marinara sauce from his own food blend with with her pesto, a culinary stroke of genius when it came to flavor. They fed each other little bites of their meals, deciding which they liked better.

"I'm going to have to get that pesto one for myself one of these days." He said after kissing her and getting another taste of her dinner. "By the way... Have I just not noticed? Do you normally dine with your pants undone?" He asked playfully, his fingers trailing the small patch of bare skin between her navel and waist of her pants.

"I'm always half undressed around you." She replied, placing her hand over his and leading it underneath her shirt to cup her breast. Allison let her eyes fall shut after glimpsing his already growing erection. If there was something she hadn't expected when beginning a relationship with House, it was his reliable ability to get a hard on when she wanted him to. Another unexpected, but welcome, surprise was that he wasn't as limited as she'd thought he would be with his bum leg. Either he was playing through the pain, or he found his way around it. Either way, she was never left unsatisfied.

Allison jumped when House snapped his fingers in front of her face, "Did you go somewhere without me?" He asked playfully, giving her breast a hard squeeze. Allison whimpered in the back of her throat, squeezing her thighs together. "An unexpected trip to a far away land?... I'll take that." He grabbed the remaining food from her and dropped it on the floor before pushing her onto her back and hovering over her. She held her breath as he pushed her shirt and bra over the tops of her breasts, his mouth enveloping the already taut peak of her left nipple. His nails raked down her sides as he gave the nipple a light tug with his teeth. Allison moaned, rolling her hips against him as her head tossed to the side. House flicked his tongue over her nipple before administering the same treatment to her other breast.

"Greg..." She moaned softly, hips rocking upward against his body as she spread her legs to grip his sides with her knees. She pulled her shirt off over her head and arched her back to unclasp her bra. House rose with her, palming her free breast with his hand.

Trailing kisses into the valley between her breasts, he created a path of open mouth kisses down her body until he arrived at her navel. His fingers traced the definition of her muscles as he plunged his tongue into her bellybutton. Allison giggled, gripping his hair between her fingers for a moment before raking her nails through the strands of hair.

He moved awkwardly into a sitting position so that he could remove her socks, planting a kiss on each big toe after tossing the article of clothing away. Allison smiled at him and sat up, pulling his shirt up over his head and tossing it aside. As she sat on his lap, House gripped the waist of her pants, "Stand up." He commanded, holding the clothing firmly as she rose and making it slide down her legs. She saw him undo his pants and push them down, kicking them off to the side. When he was as naked as she was, Allison lowered back onto his lap, hovering just above his standing erection. "Cock tease." He smirked at her, grabbing her hips but not moving her. "I can tease too. Turn around." He said.

Allison obeyed, but was surprised when he held her steady so that she couldn't sink down onto him. "What are you-" She gasped sharply, her head lulling back. One arm wrapped around her waist to steady her, House took his cock in his hand and stroked the tip against her pussy, gliding across her clit and over the slick entry before going to circle her clit again. "Oh... Oh, please don't tease me like that." She said in a tight voice. House slackened his hold on her, letting just the head of his cock enter her before tightening his grip and pulling her back up. "Not faaaaair." She cried between clenched teeth, trying to rock her hips and pull him inside. But his arms were too strong, and he could support her weight too well.

"Do you want me to fuck you?" House asked gently in her ear, sending electrical shivers down her spine and strait into her already pulsing sex. He released his cock and used his fingers to trace a taunting circle around her swollen nub.

"Yesssss." She hissed, tension building high.

"Yes, what?" He asked innocently.

"Yes, fuck me!" She groaned, rocking against his hand, already on the edge.

"Yes, fuck you? What's the magic word?" House asked tauntingly, flicking his finger over her clit sharply.

Allison's eyes widened, "FUCK ME PLEASE!" She almost screamed.

House took hold of his cock and positioned himself beneath her before slackening his hold around her waist, allowing her weight to drive down on him. Hands at her hips, he pushed her down as he surged upwards.

Gritting his teeth, House could already feel her walls trembling around him. She stilled momentarily in her movements, but he kept the motion going as she climaxed.

Allison was shaking uncontrollably, his thrusting prolonging the experience of her orgasm. Finding herself once again, she began rising and falling against him. Legs still trembling she fell back onto her hands, lowering the angle of her body and using her arms to increase her momentum against him. Sweat was beading on her skin, dripping from her forehead, and all four limbs were trembling in fatigue when she cried out and came for the second time.

"Greg," she panted, her whole body shaking uncontrollably, "I can't..." Her eyes squeezed shut, the stinging in her muscles and the soreness in her chest leaving her breathless. She needn't say anymore as House rolled them on their sides and let her leg drape over his thigh as he continued pumping into her.

When she began clenching around him for the third time, he was finally with her, thrusting relentlessly against her. She moaned, her nails scraping against the floor as she felt him release his load inside her, a choked cry issuing from his lips before he collapsed behind her.

Once again that night they laid beside each other, gasping for breath. Grabbing his beer, House took a swig of it and offered Allison hers.

"That," she began between pants, "deserves... something... harder... than... beer..."

House threw his head back and laughed. Standing up on wobbly legs, he went and grabbed two glasses and his bottle of scotch. He fell back to the floor and poured two glasses.

"I can't move." She mumbled sleepily. He turned her on her back and raised her in one arm, downing his drink and holding hers to her lips. "I feel like I'm dying." She murmured. "But in a good way."

House tipped the glass and emptied the scotch into her mouth. "We need to get some sleep. We have work in the morning." He set the glasses on the table and stood up. "Come on, I can't carry you." House held out a hand to offer her. She rose slowly and almost fell over when she was finally standing. "You weren't kidding. You really can't move."

Allison glared at him, "Hey, it's tough work staying in a half assed backbend."

"Can you _do_ a backbend?" He asked teasingly.

"Ten years of gymnastics." She smiled back lazily, but her eyes widened at the look he gave her. "We'll build up to contortionist sex. Right now, I need to find a way to keep up with you." He laughed at that. "Seriously!" She whined. "I have never been with a man who can make me cum three times in one go."

"Maybe I'll let you in on my secret one of these days. But now, we sleep." He yawned and fell onto the bed bonelessly, Allison mimicking his actions before crawling under the covers. "Night, Ally." House turned and kissed the back of her head.

"Night, Greg." Allison faced him and kissed his lips gently.

TBC

A/N- I decided to spoil my lovely readers with some smut in this chapter, after the downer that was the last chapter. I hope you enjoyed. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND! And... yeah... Review... :D -Andi


	15. Chapter 15

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: omitted

Chapter Fifteen: TAG! You're it!...

After the morning routine was over, Allison went to the kitchen to make breakfast, ignoring the leer House was giving her. She was walking gingerly, she knew it and he knew it, and both knew why.

She had awoken that morning, legs still wobbly from the previous night's sexcapades. Their morning shower had turned into a bath instead because her legs just wouldn't support her weight, and he had laughed nearly the whole time he'd scrubbed her back.

"Shut up."

"I didn't say anything!" House replied defensively, though he couldn't stop the grin that was spreading over his lips.

"You don't have to say anything, I know what you're thinking." She pouted as she cracked an egg over the hot skillet. "You're proud that I can barely walk right."

House nodded, "Yes... Yes I am." He was grinning.

Angry that he didn't even have the courtesy to deny the claim, Allison tossed the egg shell at him, smacking him in the chest. She proceeded cracking three more into the skillet

"Play nice now, Kitten, or you won't even be able to stand next time." He gestured to her posture and how she was supporting most of her weight against the countertop. She glared at him.

"Keep it up, Greg, and I won't have to worry about it." She replied, accenting her point with a pancake flipper. "I might just stop having sex with you."

House looked at her for a moment. "And how, m'dear, do you plan on achieving that?" He asked, closing the distance and tossing the egg shell into the garbage. "Duct taping your legs shut? A chastity belt with no key?"

"I could super glue your dick to your stomach." She threatened.

His jaw dropped, "The mere thought that you would even jokingly consider that has me very afraid of you right now."

"Awww, it's okay, baby." She wrapped an arm around him while her other hand shuffled the egg in the pan. "I could never even think of actually doing any harm to that beautiful penis of yours."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Did you just call my penis beautiful?"

Allison shrugged and flipped the egg over. "What would you rather have me call it?"

"Huge."

"Fine. I could never harm that _huge_, mind blowing cock of yours." She planted a quick kiss on his lips before returning her attention to the eggs in the pan.

---------

Chase and Foreman watched their boss and his girlfriend come into the office. Neither were oblivious to the obnoxious grin on House's face, or Cameron's awkward walk.

"What happened to you?" Chase asked Allison as she sat down in a chair tentatively, not even bothering to start the morning coffee. House stifled his laughter. "What?"

"I fell." Her eyes narrowed at her boyfriend. "And someone seems to think that tripping over a dog is hilarious."

"Well... You did fall on the table."

"How did you hurt your leg falling against a table?" Both Chase and Foreman were confused.

"I believe it was after I hit the table and ended up on the floor that I hurt my leg." Allison glared at her boyfriend, talking more to him than Chase and Foreman.

House just smiled wide and looked off to the side, a silent consensus to the argument, showing that he would end the mission he'd created to embarrass her.

Having spent the entire time trying to figure out what the hell the two were talking about, Chase and Foreman just shrugged and Foreman went to start the coffee.

"All right my little dwarves!" House clapped his hands together, "Do we have anything worth mentioning on patients?" He saw Foreman and Chase shake their heads. "No crazy Australian plant detoxification needed?" Head shakes. "No circulatory malfunctions?" Head shakes. "Blood in urine?" Head shakes. "Explosive diarrhea?" Pause. Head shakes. "Damn." House slumped into a chair. "Everyone, it seems we are becoming obsolete... Doctors are finally learning how to diagnose their own patients." He sighed.

Allison stood up slowly and walked to the door. "I'm going to the clinic." She said.

"See you later, Mrs. Twolumps." Three heads turned his direction, confusion written on all three. House looked at them. "What?"

"Who's Mrs. Twolumps?" Foreman asked, brow furrowed.

"Ministry of Silly Walks?" Blank Stares. "Flying Circus skit?" Still blank stares. "God, you guys make me feel old. Montey Python and the Holy Grail?" They nodded knowing the film. "Never mind." He grunted, walking to his office.

Allison sighed as he went into his office, "Great." She grunted and walked out of the department.

"Intriguing..." Foreman leaned back in a chair.

"What?" Chase's brow furrowed.

"They had their first fight." Foreman replied, grabbing the crossword puzzle before Chase got his hands on it.

"Pshh. How can you tell?" Chase asked skeptically.

Foreman cocked an eyebrow. "That is for me to know, and you to remain confused about." He got up and took his crossword puzzle with him.

House exited his office.

"Where are you going?" Chase called to his boss as the man limped out of diagnostics.

"To play soccer." House called out as the door shut behind him.

-----------

Cuddy nearly jumped out of her skin at the tap on her shoulder. "You know," she gasped for breath, "despite the limp, walking at snail pace, and the cane, you are too damned stealthy."

"Tag, you're it." House stuck a post-it note to her shirt.

"What is this?" Cuddy called after him as she pealed the post-it off. When she looked up, he had vanished. Reading the post-it, she smirked. She hadn't played this game in a long time.

-------------

Wilson looked up at the knock on his door. "Dr. Cuddy, how may I help you?" Wilson stood up from his chair.

Lisa grinned and stuck a post-it to his forehead. "Tag, you're it!" She dashed out of his office. Wilson's brow furrowed, dislodging the post-note, causing it to fall to the floor. When he picked it up and read it, he grinned.

-------------

"Tag, you're it." Cuddy said, handing House the sticky note that had been fluctuating all over the hospital. "I haven't played this since college." She was grinning from ear to ear.

House nodded, "I know, me either."

"I like your choice." She took stride with him as they walked to the elevator.

"Did my minions get a hold of this?" He asked, stepping into the lift.

"Nope."

"Good."

----------------

"Good afternoon, my ducklings." House limped into diagnostics, noting his bored colleagues. "We have a case." He held up a clipboard.

"Really?" Cameron turned, a look of intrigue on her face.

"Yes." He looked at the clipboard and grabbed the white board marker and began writing down the symptoms and subject status. "You have." He looked at his watch. "Ooh, fort-five minutes."

"Forty-five minutes?" Chase's brow furrowed.

"Until he dies."

"Where is he? We need to run blood work, vitals-"

"Ask me anything you need to know about him and I will tell you." House sat down at the table. "He's in quarantine and we have forty-five minutes we cannot waste time."

"CBC?" Foreman asked hurriedly.

----------

Time was running out. They had twenty minutes, and House was playing his GBA calmly as the three, young diagnosticians wracked their brains without fruition. They watched precious minutes tick away as they remained stuck. Everything they offered as a diagnostic was immediately shot down by House, and it only made them feel worse.

"Poison!" Foreman announced.

"We've already discussed poison." Cameron rubbed her temples.

"True, but we have been on a toxin streak lately with patients." Chase pointed out.

Cameron rolled her eyes, "Previous patients' conditions do not dictate the type of condition the next patient will have."

"True, but it's the best we have." Foreman pointed out, "Fast acting. If he's only got forty five minutes remaining to live, it implies poisoning."

"He may have been sick for days and ignored it." Chase pointed out.

"Who's side are you on?" Cameron and Foreman asked the Aussie simultaneously.

"I'm just looking at all the angles." Chase replied and turned to House, "How long has the patient been sick?"

"'Bout time one of you asked that." House grunted and snapped his GBA shut. "He became violently ill after lunch today."

"Lunch! AhHA!" Foreman pointed at Cameron, "Which implies?"

"Poisoning." Cameron conceded. "Okay, where was the guy eating lunch?"

"Japanese restaurant." House was watching his subordinates with interest.

"Okay, so it's probably a seafood poisoning." Cameron nodded, "Greg... What's that fish... Umm... The one that if you don't cut it properly, it's toxic secretions are lethal?" She asked her boyfriend.

"Puffer fish?" Foreman supplied.

"That's it! Puffer fish!" Her brow furrowed, "But there's been a huge decrease in the amounts of puffer fish poisonings." She glared at her boyfriend. "And, there's no way to know the amount of time a patient has when it's puffer fish poisoning unless you know the poison dosage, time of consumption and..." Her eyes narrowed further. "This is an old case!"

"Tag!" House laughed. "It's an old game I used to play in college." He shrugged. "A med student would write down a condition on a post-it note. We'd pass it back and forth for a while and then give it to someone who hadn't read it yet and just supply the patient history and current symptoms and conditions. We'd put together a time frame and the person we gave it to had that much time to diagnose the pathogen."

"Study tag." Cameron groaned. "You had us stressing for the last twenty five minutes over a game?"

"Just want to keep you guys sharp." House stood up. "Besides, you just saved a man who died four years ago, because someone couldn't diagnose him." He peaked his head into the hall. "They beat the clock!" He called out.

"You don't seriously have doctors out there do you?" Chase asked suspiciously.

House shook his head, "No, just thought I'd make you feel like the other doctors in the hospital cared enough to know if you figured it out in time." He shrugged, "Ally, shall we go to lunch?" He held out his hand and she stood up and took it. "See you later, gents."

-------------

Cafeteria food.

House peeled the slices of pickle off of his sandwich in disdain. Somehow, he had always thought that nothing could be worse than his high school lunches, but he'd been wrong. Hospital cafeteria food was by far a larger hurdle to cross in disgusting cuisine.

"I'll take your pickles if you'll take my onions." Allison offered, holding the top of her sandwich open for him as he plucked the rings off and dropped the pickles on.

"I thought you liked onions." House's brow scrunched.

"I like diced onions, when they're in rings it drives me nuts. You take a bite and half the onions you put on it comes off in a single bite. And there you are eating two percent sandwich ninety-eight percent onion." She glowered, putting the top slice of bread back on her sandwich and taking a bite.

You're a strange one." He mimicked her in consumption.

They ate lunch with comfortable conversation before he looked at the clock. "Let's see if we can't get out of here early today."

"And how do you propose we accomplish that?" Allison asked, smiling as he placed his hand over hers.

"Did you get your clinic hours in for the day yet?" House asked, letting his index finger trace tiny lines over the back of her hand.

Allison nodded, "Yes, but you haven't." She pointed out.

"Well, how about you go back to diagnostics and get started on charts, and I will get my ass into the clinic and get the torture over and done with. Maybe we can jet early." He offered, grazing his fingertips over the back of her hand and sending goose bumps up her arm.

Smiling mischievously, Allison nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

House stood up to stand beside Allison, taking her chin between his fingers and tilting her face up. He lowered his lips and planted a soft kiss on hers before walking off. Allison saw a few tables of people looking her direction and blushed at the public display of affection before heading to the elevator so she could get started on charts.

----------------

Cuddy stood by the nurses station in the clinic. Information had been leaked to her that House was in the clinic and that he had not been escorted there by gunpoint. Something was going on, and she was aiming to figure it out. In the last week and a half she had witnessed House _not_ wasting time, _not_ avoiding the clinic like the plague, and _not_ popping Vicodin every twenty minutes. And surprisingly, his abilities had not depleted. He was still sharp as a tack, if not more productive. True, his comments about her cleavage had not ceased and he was still a bastard to the clients, but there was something new behind it.

"House," Cuddy burst into the clinic room. "I need to see you in my office after this patient." She announced.

Brow furrowed, he wondered what she was going to bitch about this time. He was doing his damn job, though it was just so he wouldn't have to be there the whole day, and could go home and get frisky earlier than expected, but still! He was doing his damn job!

"What?" House grunted as he entered Cuddy's office. "What did I do? Piss off the head of a department for stealing that MRI schedule last week? Or did that tattle tail in maternity rat on me for sleeping in their lounge again?" He put both hands on his cane and waited expectantly.

"House, everyone knows you sleep on the maternity floor every other day and... Wait... You stole another patient's MRI schedule again?.. Never mind." Cuddy sighed, but smiled at him none-the-less. "I'm giving you and Doctor Cameron next week off." She told him. House stared at her. "What?"

"Why?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You've never given me a day off now you're giving me a week with Allison? What if we get a patient?"

"Foreman and Chase can handle it." Cuddy stood up.

"That's it? No other explanations?" His suspicious nature was peeking through.

"No explanations."

"That's not like you, Countess of Cleavage." Cuddy automatically pulled the dip of her shirt up a bit without thinking about it. "Whatever..." He turned to leave, but when he reached the door he stopped. "Don't tell Allison we have next week off."


	16. Chapter 16

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: omitted

Chapter Sixteen: Compensation

It was the weekend and Allison was suspicious. He could tell because every five seconds she would look up from what she was doing, give him a contemplative glare, and then go back to whatever it was she'd been up to before. Fighting the urge to tap his index finger, a nervous habit that he usually managed to surpress, House went back to studying the keys on the piano.

Allison slammed her book shut. "That's it!" She tossed the book on the coffee table. "What are you up to!?"

House looked up in surprise. "I'm not up to anything!" He replied innocently, letting his fingers fall on the keys without emitting a sound from the strings.

"There's a tremor below your left eye when you're up to something, and your eye's been doing that the whole damn week!" Allison glared. "You're up to something and you've been up to it all week."

Jaw hanging in surprise, House tried to think back to if anyone had ever mentioned that to him. From what he could remember, no one had ever brought it up before. Then again, he'd never had such a long running scheme before now. Not to mention, Allison did occupy most of his time, so an occasional tick was much more likely to be noticed by her... Thinking about it, he realized that he was contemplating it too much and decided to finally reply.

"You're right." House admitted. "I have been up to something."

Allison stood up and walked over to him. "And what would that be?" She asked, straddling the piano bench to face him.

"I have been trying to compose a song without using the piano." He looked at the keys.

Allison's brow scrunched, "Why would you try and do that?"

"Because," he looked at her, "I'm writing it for you."

She looked at him a long moment before saying anything. "Play it for me?"

"It's not finished." He replied, his fingers lingering over the keys as if he were going to play, but had yet to decide.

Allison pouted, "Please?"

"When it's finished." He answered, letting his hands leave the keys and move towards her chin.

"Teach me to play?" She asked, placing her fingers on the keys, but not striking a note. House smirked and took her hand in his, placing her thumb on C and the other digits on the ascending keys. Hand still over hers, he pushed his middle finger down, sending the resonating sound of E into the air. Tapping his fingers over hers to hit the notes, Allison laughed when she heard the familiar tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb playing. When the little melody had ended, House raised his hand to her cheekbone and grazed the arch gently.

Allison tilted her head against his touch like a cat pleading for a caress. Wanting to be near him, she draped her leg over his while the other lined up behind him.

House pulled the key cover over the keys and held Allison tightly against himself with his free arm until she rose to crawl into his lap. "Why did you put the cover on?" She asked against his ear, rotating her hips against his.

"Because this is my piano and not a prop for Pretty Woman. You sit your ass on these piano keys and I will never have sex with you again." He explained just as softly against her ear as his hands clasped around her hips.

"Mmm." She planted feather light kisses on his face. "Understood." She cooed, leaning back and propping herself on her elbows that rested on the key cover. "Do you want me on your piano?" Allison teased.

"Hmm." House ran his hands down her back until he came to the tail of her shirt. She gave him a slight glance from beneath her hooded eyes and smirked. One hand fell to her hip as the other slid beneath her shirt. Looking at her with a single eye, he slid his palm up her spine and drew it back down, raking his nails over her skin harshly. He didn't need to feel the shiver that ran through her, he didn't even need to see it, though it was a visible tremor. He knew that she liked the long, drawn out scratch over her skin, because her hips ground down against his and the softest of whimpers emitted from her throat. "I don't want you on my piano."

Allison's eyes opened fully at that, "Oh?"

"No, I want you underneath it." Allison quirked an eyebrow at that comment, trying to figure out if it was some kind of euphemism. Before she could figure it out, House demonstrated that he wasn't being metaphorical, he was serious. Scooting back the piano bench, House brought her into a sitting position on his lap before he leaned forward as if to dislodge her. Allison got off of him and sat on the floor and was soon joined by him underneath the heavy body of the piano. "Just think if the legs gave out and the base fell on top of us." He commented, looking at her from where he lay beside her.

"Good thing the legs of this piano are sturdier than yours." She smirked, curling onto her side to look at him.

"Ooh, someone's feisty tonight." House grinned, planting a kiss on her lips. "You're quickly toppling over Cuddy on the leg cracks."

Allison kept low as she straddled him, keeping her head from smacking the underside of the piano. "Kane's starting to run out of places to hide when we have sex." She smirked at him.

House nodded, "She has been known to take cover under the piano from time to time." Allison looked across the room, making House arch his neck and glance where she was. "It seems that she takes the high road when we take the low road." He said as he saw that the dog had jumped up on the couch.

"Mm, I suppose we could leave this spot alone for her." Allison rotated her hips against his.

"I don't feel like moving." House answered, putting a hand behind her head and bringing her lips to his own. The kiss was slow and languid even as it deepened. Hands moved at a tranquil pace as clothes were removed and thrown from beneath the piano.

"I've never had sex beneath a piano before." Allison giggled as House rolled them to be on top of her.

"It's a very intimate act. The sense of danger..."

"Danger?" She laughed.

"Hey! Do you realize if one of us hits our heads, we could suffer a horrible concussion?"

"Uh huh, well, don't hit your head." She laughed, then gasped when he thrust up inside her. "Greg!" She arched, her knees squeezing his hips to still him.

House flattened against her, his chest pressed tightly against hers as his lips whispered in a hot breath against her ear. "Have you ever seen the rings of Saturn?" He asked as he slowly withdrew and then pressed back in swiftly. Allison bit her lip, a moan lulling from the back of her throat as she shook her head 'no'. House nipped her earlobe before settling his mouth against her throat, leaving little bites between hard sucks. Allison used her knees to help propel his hips.

"Greg." She held his head to her throat, little gasps escaping between clenched teeth as her eyes squeezed shut. "Mm, harder." Allison rolled her head to the side, giving him better access to her neck. House rocked his hips faster as Allison ran her hands down his back, every so often returning to his scalp to press his face harder against her throat. "Harder." She keened, her nails raking down the back of his neck to between his shoulder blades.

Arching in her climax, Allison felt him come inside of her, his labored breaths beating against her damp skin. House turned onto his side, flopping onto his back beside her. "We should play piano more often."

Allison laughed before crawling out from beneath the piano and standing up. House followed her, enjoying the nice view of her long, bare legs. He remained lying on the ground for a moment before he shook his head and stood up.

She looked at him as he hobbled towards the bedroom. Thinking for a moment, Allison tried to figure out why he'd randomly asked her about Saturn. Sighing, Allison decided it was something she'd have to wait and find out later.

--------------

Allison came into the apartment Sunday evening with Kane after a nice long walk. House had hung behind to do who knows what, but as she came in and heard him in the kitchen, she figured it out.

Taking on the voice of an aged British woman, House shuffled a pan of chopped vegetables around in a frying pan, "And remember, you want to saute them, not burn them." He said to himself in his old female English voice, "However, it needs more Sherry!" He took a swig from the bottle before pouring a generous portion into the pan.

"Do you need an assistant in the kitchen, Julia?" Allison giggled as she came up behind him, nearly making him jump out of his skin.

"No, deary, I believe it just needs some more sherry and it will be in fine shape." He still hadn't dropped the Julia Child voice.

"And how many glasses of sherry have we had already?" She asked, taking the bottle from him and taking a swig. "Four? Five?" Allison teased, placing the bottle down and wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's waist.

House pulled her against him and turned off the flame, moving the pan onto a cool burner. "How was your walk?" He asked, nuzzling his face against her hair.

With a smile, Allison gave him a light kiss on the lips. "I feel like we wasted our weekend." She pouted.

"What makes you say that?" House asked, grabbing his bottle of Vicodin and popping one. He'd been limping around the kitchen without his cane since she'd left for her walk an hour and a half ago, and his leg was starting to make its discomfort noticed.

Allison shrugged. "It just feels like we didn't do anything but watch tv and eat take-out."

"Ah, but Julia has prepared us a beautiful meal this evening." He gestured to the slightly singed chicken and the vegetables he had just saut▌ed.

"Mm, thank you, Julia." She gave him another quick kiss on the lips.

"You're just disappointed we didn't have our usual endless sex this weekend." House tapped her nose.

Allison blushed. "Okay, maybe that's got a little to do with it. Although that trist beneath the piano last night was rather contenting." She smirked

"Uh huh." He squeezed her tighter to him. "Did you think, perhaps, that maybe I had better plans for our days off?" His voice was a teasing breath against her ear.

"What plans, Greg? We didn't do anything." She shuddered none the less.

"I said, our days off, not the weekend." He pointed out.

"What do you-"

"Let's eat." He grabbed a couple of plates and served himself. Brow scrunched in confusion, Allison did the same.

After dinner they watched a few tv shows and went to bed. As Allison crawled into bed, she pouted slightly in confusion. Wrapping her arm around him, Allison nibbled his ear beseechingly.

"Are you trying to ask me something, Ally?" House turned onto his other side to face her. Her big coffee eyes made him smile. He knew what she wanted, and it stroked his ego to know that she wanted him that bad.

"Greg." She pouted, straddling his waist to cover him with her body.

House rested his hands on her hips before lifting her off of him. "It's late, we need to be up early tomorrow." He told her as he turned back onto his side and curled up to sleep.

"You're a jerk." Allison glowered at his back before curling back onto her side, not facing him. "Greg... Why did you ask me if I'd ever seen the rings of Saturn last night?" She finally asked.

"Saturn's supposed to be visible tomorrow night." He explained.

"Psh, like we could see it in New Jersey." She rolled her eyes. "Night, Greg."

"Night, Ally."

------------

"Wake up, Ally." House was shaking his girlfriend at 5:30 in the morning.

"Greg, if the apartment isn't on fire, you will lose a hand." Allison groaned when she saw the clock. When she looked at him she was confused. "What are you wearing?"

"Come on, pack some stuff, we're leaving." House told her as he shouldered his back pack.

"Where are we going?" Allison was confused as she stumbled out of bed. Kane was looking back and forth between the two in similar confusion.

"Away." He said cryptically.

"What should I bring?" Allison grabbed her duffle bag.

House flopped on the bed.

"Doesn't matter."

Allison stopped what she was doing to look at him. "Greg, we have to leave to go to work in three hours."

"No we don't, we have the week off." House told her, getting up to throw stuff into her duffle bag.

"And why haven't I heard about this?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips and trying to ignore the fact that he'd just crammed her new chiffon dress into the duffle along with a pair of heels. God help him if her dress tore as a result.

"Because I have a surprise for you and it was easier to keep you from bugging me about it by waiting until the last minute to tell you." House replied before he started to the dresser and began throwing underwear and socks at her.

"What about Kane?" Allison asked, catching the garments.

"She's coming with." House leaned against his cane. "Now get dressed and let's go."

Allison sighed and glanced into the duffle, trying to figure out where they were going based on what he'd packed. There were a few sets of warm clothes, mostly for outdoor activities, her chiffon dress, which she was still pissed that he'd shoved in there. He'd also thrown in a few sets of her skimpier underwear along with the more modest pairs. To hell with him for presuming she'd sleep with him after he'd abused her wardrobe.

"Greg." She stomped her foot. "Where the _hell_ are we going!?"

"You'll see."

"You're evil."

"Grab your duffle." He told her as he shouldered his own bag once again.

Together they went to her car and House surprised her by taking her bag and politely asking her to get in the passenger seat while he loaded the trunk. She was slightly suspicious by his random courtesy, but she got in the car none the less, after letting Kane in the back seat, and sat with her arms crossed.

"Where are we going?" She asked again as he got in the driver's seat.

"This is exactly why I didn't tell you about our trip earlier." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm just trying to surprise you."

"I hate surprises." She shot back as they drove off.

"No you don't." House said as he pulled into an intersection. "You just don't like surprises when you know there's a surprise but don't know what it is."

Allison stared at him a moment, "I have no clue what you just said."

"You liked the flowers I got you, and that was a surprise." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but you also avoided me nearly the whole day until they arrived."

House smirked, "Aside from having sex in my office?" She glared. "But it was still a pleasant surprise, wasn't it?"

Allison turned on the radio to stop conversation. If this was his idea of wooing, then he'd definitely missed his sensitivity training this month.

Kane rested her head on the consol between her two human companions, he eyebrows lifting in exasperation in either direction as she looked between the two. Her expression clearly said, "What am I going to do with you two?"

When they got onto an interstate highway, Allison began looking at the exits to try and figure out where they were going. House turned the volume down on the radio, "You're not going to figure it out." He said innocently.

"Why do you say that?"

"Trust me, you won't figure it out." He replied, turning the volume back up. Allison sighed and slumped back in her seat, not realizing that she was drifting back to sleep after being dragged out of the apartment at such an early hour.

When she awoke, Allison looked out her sunlit window at the transformed scenery. "Wow." She said breathlessly.

"Pretty, isn't it." House was smirking.

"Where are we?" Allison asked, gazing out in awe.

"West Virginia."

"It's beautiful." She sighed, watching the passing scenery, but pouting when she saw a big city coming up.

"We're going to Charleston." House told her, pointing at the city.

"Oh." She slumped into her seat. "What's in Charleston?" She asked.

"Our hotel."

"Oh."

"I made sure that pets are allowed." He assured her.

"Oh." She was still looking out the window longingly.

House glanced at her. "Another 'Oh' and I might just kick you out of the car." He teased. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing."

"You know, Ally, our _hotel_ is in Charleston because it's a convenient place for where we are _really_ going, not because we're actually spending all of our time in Charleston." He told her cryptically.

Allison looked at him curiously. "So where are we actually going?"

"That's for me to know and you to guess about until we get there." He grinned.

"I was right before. You're evil." Allison laughed a little.

After lunch, Allison and House walked around the city with Kane, neither feeling like doing anything in particular, just taking in the differences between their city and this one. Allison continued pestering her boyfriend about the plans for the day, but he would just glance up, a look of feigned innocence on his face and shrug.

Soon it was late enough that they could check into their hotel, where Allison sat on the bed and glowered at the back of her boyfriend's head the whole time as he watched a marathon of Myth Busters. This wasn't a vacation. They were doing the same damn thing they would be doing if they'd stayed at the apartment, only he'd wasted a bunch of gas and miles on her car. This was it! She was going to hit him!

"Relax." House saw her hand raise to smack him over the back of the head. "You'll see later." Allison grunted and flopped back against the pillows she was propped up against. She was getting more and more pissed off as the afternoon went on. She was confused, annoyed and, yeah, upset! There was nothing intimate about their trip together, their first vacation with one another. It wasn't so much that he hadn't been affectionate towards her, but there was nothing different about the experience, only a different city and a different room.

Dusk was approaching, the Myth Busters marathon was coming to a close, and Allison was fighting back tears. A whole day was wasted and she felt miserable. "I'm going to get a soda from the vending machine." She announced and before House could even acknowledge her statement, she'd walked out the door.

Walking down the hallway, Allison swiped away unwanted tears as she went to the vending machines by the ice cooler. Knowing that she was blowing things way out of proportion, Allison belittled herself as she bought a diet coke and went to the stairwell to get out of the hotel room for a while. She wasn't even sure she wanted to go back to the room. After all, House had probably already found a new tv show or movie to watch, and she would once again be left to block out the background noise and glare daggers into the back of his head.

A sniffle caused her to catch her breath as she let another tear trickle down her cheek. She felt silly for feeling so upset. After all, a vacation was still a vacation. Sure, maybe they weren't doing something exotic, but at least there was no risk of being bothered or called into work. Also, they did have the entire week to do something. Maybe House was tired from driving six hours straight! That made sense! Maybe his leg had started cramping up and getting sore from driving so long and he just wanted to take the rest of the day to rest it! See, she could be logical!

The stairway door opened and Allison looked up to see House leaning in the doorframe. He held out his hand and she took it curiously, flinging her stray tears aside. "Come on." He lead her back to the room, but passed it to head to the elevator.

"Now where." Allison muttered. "Red lobster? Burger King?" She leaned against the wall of the elevator as they descended. He was walking just fine, clearly nullifying her previous conclusion.

"No." He replied simply as they exited and walked out to the lobby and out of the hotel to go to the car. Allison was sick of his game. She appreciated that he wanted to surprise her, but what could be so secretive that he had to be a complete bastard for most of the day?

They drove in silence, the radio turned off. Allison stared at the road, feeling the dry stinging in her eyes from withheld tears. They drove to a vast clearing, a single tree driving up from the ground like a dagger through the vast green of the field. It almost seemed like a scene from a movie.

"What are we doing here." Allison asked as they parked alongside the tree.

"I wanted to show you something." He replied softly as he got out of the car. Allison's brow knit as she got out as well. House went to the trunk and grabbed a couple of large blankets.

"What did you want to show me?" Allison asked as he laid a blanket out on the dew coated grass and placed the other, still folded on top to rest his head on.

House sat down. "Look up." He said gently.

Allison looked up at the sky for the first time and gasped. "Greg." She said, slowly sinking onto the blanket beside him. "It's... I..." She stared up at millions of stars, so big and bright that she felt that she could reach up and pluck one from the sky.

"I'm sorry that this whole thing had to be so covert, but you're nearly impossible to surprise." He said.

Allison rested her head on his chest as she continued to stare up at the sky. She could see so many clear constellations, Orion the most well known from what she could recognize. "Thank you." She said softly. "I'm sorry I overreacted."

"You didn't overreact." House wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I was really being a bastard today."

"Only because you wanted to surprise me!" Allison answered.

"Let's just say that tonight begins our actual vacation." House murmured, tracing his finger down her spine. Allison nodded and planted a kiss on his forehead. House caught her chin between his fingers and kissed her deeply. "I've been waiting all day to do that." He said against her lips. Allison draped her body over his as she lowered her mouth to his once again.

Pulling the tail of her shirt up, House traced her goose bumped skin as she felt the cold air against her flesh. She shook slightly, a mixture of cold and the arousal that coursed through her. When he'd removed her bra, her nipples hardened into taut peaks that made him rise and capture one between his lips.

Allison held him to her chest, running her fingers through his hair. "Greg." She sighed, grateful to feel him caressing her with his hands and mouth once again.

House rolled them so that he was on top of her, allowing him to remove the remainder of her clothes. She was beautiful in the cold starlit night, her body pale but hot. His hands ran up her legs and her sides as he cupped her breasts in both palms. He could feel her nipples pressing into his palms, along with the slight tremors of her body. Leaning down he kissed her lips, his right hand palming her breast as his left supported his weight. He didn't want to leave her mouth, Allison's tongue twining with his and making him feel drunk as she moaned and gasped when he pinched her nipple between his fingers.

"Ally." He groaned, breaking from her lips and kissing down to her neck where he suckled and nipped tender pulse points. She arched against him, pressing her body against his. House sucked hard on the juncture between her neck and shoulder. He smirked at the hickey he left on her throat, and licked it gently. Massaging her breasts, he kissed his way up to her ear, nibbling on her lobe. She jerked and moaned loudly. Abandoning her neck, House knelt between her legs. Bending over, he kissed her mouth, and down her throat towards her breasts. He made his way down her flat stomach and to her pussy, which he was pleased to see was already coated in dew. His tongue poked out and licked up her slit, pushing in deeper. House heard Allison gasp and barely contained a smirk. "Ooh..." She moaned as he spread her legs wide, pressing his tongue flat against her clit and licking vigourously. "Ooh, uhn." She rocked her hips. Allison whimpered, feeling his torturous tongue wriggling against her sex. She could feel his tongue and mouth on her, kissing and licking. He'd kiss down her thigh to leave a light bite on the tender muscles before returning back to the apex of her thighs. How could he make her feel so good?

"Greg." She clenched her eyes tightly shut as his tongue traced a circle around her clit teasingly. "Ah, Greg!" Her fingers were digging into the thick patches of grass on either side of the blanket as she fought back the urge to clamp her legs shut.

Placing his hands on her knees, House pushed her legs open wider which made Allison cry out and buck her hips. When she arched and keened loudly, a smirk fleeted across his lips before he straightened up and looked down at her panting body. Before she could recover her breath, House was inside her. Her gasps for breath halted momentarily as he thrust inside her and a long moan emitted from her lips.

Hips rocking against each others, they quickly drew to a climax, moans lingering and melding together in the cool air. Even the cold night couldn't freeze the entwined lovers' blood as they came in each other's arms and the condensation from their breaths mingled together to form one large cloud.

Collapsing along side each other, House took the folded blanket and covered themselves with it, their cool skin quickly warming.

Kissing her face gently, House pushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes, "You're beautiful in the starlight." He smirked.

Allison smiled in lazy contentment. "I wish we could have looked at Saturn's rings. I wish I had a telescope." She sighed.

"I figured we could do that tomorrow night. Saturn's too bright tonight." He snuck an arm out and pointed up at the sky. About... 40 degrees from the horizon in the western sky. Between that cluster of faint stars."

"I'm impressed."

"I used to be a huge astronomy geek when I was in elementary school." He shrugged, worming his arm back under the blanket. "But we have all week, I just wanted to start here."

"I'm glad we did."

House grinned and looked at her, wondering what the heat in his belly was from. It was a common occurrence this last month. The feeling of liquid heat pouring through his veins. He wasn't sure he was ready to admit what that feeling could possibly mean, and he wasn't sure if it was real quite yet. But something was for certain, he'd finally met someone who could challenge him.

TBC

A/N- Wow, this one took a while to get out, so I decided to give you a longer chapter :D. This was originally meant to be a two parter, but I couldn't find a good place to cut it in half so I decided to keep it a single. I hope you enjoyed, please review, and... Have a great weekend :D:D:D:D- Andi 


	17. Chapter 17

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Seventeen: Family

Flopping onto the bed, House curled against his panting and sweat soaked girlfriend. He could feel her shaking against him as she tried to catch her breath, electrical shivers running through her body after her most recent climax.

With a wry grin, Allison turned onto her side to face her boyfriend and looked at him in the streak of light that filtered into their room from the street lamp outside. She could see a tired smile on his lips. It was 3 AM. They had just gotten back from star gazing a little less than an hour ago when the mood had struck them once more.

Kane was lying on the floor, not making a sound, adding to the comfortable silence as they looked at each other. Neither felt like they could stay awake much longer. House had been up since five the previous morning, and she was just exhausted from the day's emotional roller coaster.

"What are we doing tomorrow? Or is that a secret too?" She asked, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Hmmm, well, seeing as it is tomorrow... I'd say we're having sex, sleeping and then..." He shrugged, "I really don't know."

Allison gave a slight laugh and pulled him closer to her as she snuggled against him. "Sounds like a plan." She yawned before falling asleep.

House watched her as she slowly drifted off, her breathing slowly becoming rhythmic. Time to himself, he finally took the opportunity to think about what had come over him after they'd made love together in the field. Part of him knew what the feeling that had built up inside of him was, and the rest of him didn't want to consider it. He knew when he fell in love, he fell fast and completely, but not easily. Only two women could be categorized as women he'd loved. Obviously, one was his mother, and the other was Stacy. Two women he'd loved in his years on earth, and that was all. It seemed surreal to believe he'd fallen for Allison.

But as he watched her sleep, something inside him burned painfully at the thought that she didn't love him. They'd only been together for a month now and she was already living with him, and he wondered if that was only the repercussion of her home burning down. Would they have gotten to this stage so quickly if it hadn't been for that freak accident? Would he have fallen for her this quickly if she hadn't come to live with him? Would he feel so pained at the thought of her not being with him if neither of the questions he'd already asked himself were true? The answer, he concluded, was no. If her apartment hadn't gone up in flames they wouldn't be living together. If they hadn't lived together so soon, he wouldn't have fallen in love with her already, but they had, and he did.

Love her, that is.

He did love her, and it scared the shit out of him. Despite the fact that they usually remained on the same wave length with their relationship, he still couldn't begin to believe that she already loved him. Enjoyed his company, yes. Enjoyed having sex with him... Obviously... But that didn't mean it was love for her. She had married a man she hadn't really loved, she'd cared deeply about him, but that wasn't love. So how did he know that this wasn't the same for her? Did she even know what love was yet?

He was confusing himself, digging himself into a bigger, darker hole with every question he pondered. Letting things take their course was the best option at that point, but how did he know when to let it out? How did he know when to tell her he loved her? Should he let her say it first? But what if she was thinking the same thing and neither would say it in fear of how the other would respond? What if she wasn't sleeping, just like he wasn't. Merely contemplating the exact thing he was contemplating?

At that, he realized that he hadn't stopped questioning himself, and was beginning to become quite paranoid. With a deep breath he tried to push out all of his thoughts so that he could sleep, but the thoughts won out and he continued thinking about them.

As quietly and stealthily as he could, House climbed out of bed and dressed. Grabbing his cell phone he put Kane on her leash and quietly left the room.

New Jersey

Wilson groaned as his phone rang shrilly, waking him abruptly.

"'Lo?" He murmured into the phone.

"Wilson, I have a problem."

"House, it's almost four in the morning." Wilson groaned.

"Who's bed did I wake you up in?" He heard House grunt.

Wilson rubbed his eyes, "Mine, now what's so damn important?"

"I'm in love with Allison."

Wilson paused for a moment. "And?" He didn't want to give up any valuable leverage.

"It's too soon to tell her I love her."

"How do you figure?" Wilson yawned, wanting to go back to bed before work.

Wilson could almost see the glare on House's face.

"We've been seeing each other a month, I can't tell her I love her. What happens if she thinks I'm nuts?"

Wilson sighed, "If it took her a month to realize you're nuts, then she's not observant enough to be in diagnostics."

"This is serious, Wilson."

"House, you guys started living together less than a week after you started seeing each other. Usually 'I Love You' comes _before_ moving in with each other." Wilson pointed out.

"... Should I wait for her to say it first?"

Wilson groaned and flopped back onto his pillow, he wanted to go back to sleep! He was going to end this and end it quick! "No, she'll just think you're saying it to say it, not because you mean it. Something like, you want to keep having sex with her so you'll say anything to hold onto that."

"... What if that's what she does to me? What if she says she loves me too, but it's just so she can keep screwing me? I am quite a God in bed, after all."

"Uh huh, yes, such a God that the hookers didn't make you pay them?" Wilson quirked an eyebrow.

Wilson heard House make an exasperated sound in the back of his throat. "Well, they do need to pay the rent, so they couldn't just take the amazing sex and pay for food and rent with that, now could they?"

"Tell her you love her. If there's anything you can do, it's read through the bullshit. If she says she loves you back, you'll know if it's the truth or not... Can I go back to sleep now?"

"But what if she doesn't say anything?"

"Then she doesn't love you yet." Wilson groaned, "That doesn't mean she won't ever love you, just that she doesn't love you _yet_. Now can I go back to sleep?"

"But what if she feels pressured into saying it, and she-"

"Oh my God! You're turning into such a woman!" Wilson almost yelled. "Just DO IT!" And with that he hung up the phone.

Back in West Virginia

"Jimmy just hung up on me." House frowned, looking at Kane curiously. "What do you think I should do." Kane cocked her head to the side as if she were thinking. "You too huh?" He realized that Kane was just as uncertain as he was. "Why don't you find out if she'd be open to me saying it and then get back to me?" Kane grunted and laid down on the ground with a sigh. "Fine, I'll just commit relationship suicide." House leaned into the bench.

Annoyed, and still confused, House stood up and went back into the hotel. As he made it back to his room he saw that Allison was sitting up in bed, watching him. "Did I wake you?" He asked quietly.

"No. I never fell asleep. Where did you go?" Allison asked, curling back into bed.

"To walk Kane." He replied, kicking off his shoes and stripping down to his boxers before crawling back into bed with her.

"Oh... Is that all?" She asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Ally, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just can't sleep and... And I don't know why..." She flopped back onto the pillows. House's eyebrows drew together. She was nervous about something, or worried, he couldn't quite place it, but it seemed more of an uncertainty.

Wrapping his arms around her, House snuggled against her and planted light kisses on the back of her neck. "Just stop thinking, you'll fall asleep." He coaxed, holding her tightly to himself.

Allison nodded tried to push back the nagging thoughts in the back of her head. She could think about everything in the morning.

-------------

Upon waking, Allison saw that House was still out cold. With a sigh, she got up and went to the bathroom and showered. She emerged toweling her hair off and finding her boyfriend still asleep. Another sigh escaped her lips as she put Kane on her leash to walk her.

As master and mutt walked the streets a little before noon, she began to think back over what had kept her awake the night before. There was something nagging at the back of her head, and making her heart constrict. Whenever she thought of her boyfriend, she'd feel the dull ache and wondered desperately what it was. The thought of it being love scared her. Love wasn't something she dealt with. She managed to avoid it in all of her relationships. Her husband had died before she could fall in love, it had still hurt when he'd passed, but it wasn't as difficult as she'd feared it would be.

Wondering if she was cold hearted, Allison's leash arm dangle limply at her side. Was she really incapable of love? How could she marry someone she wasn't in love with? Sure, on some level she must have loved her husband, but she knew she wasn't in love with him before or after he'd died. They had just been really close friends, and he was a friend she couldn't stand to let leave the world alone.

Allison moped as she watched her feet pass over the creases of the pavement. Her shadow was a pool beneath her feet, weaving into the cracks and imperfections of the concrete as she contemplated her life. How was she suppose to know if this was love? She couldn't figure it out herself, especially when it was something she'd never experienced. Trying to think of her family, she related her feelings for them to House. Unfortunately, her relationship with her parents was a bit unbalanced. She didn't grow up with the unconditional love that a child has with their mother and father. Instead, she watched her father sit on the couch while her mother screamed in the kitchen and downed gin in front of the kitchen sink.

However, her childhood did have some redeeming qualities. Namely, her siblings.

She had two older brothers.

They meant the world to her. Sure, there were troubles between them, the usual big brothers watching out for little sister and turning out to run her life for her, but she understood their good intentions when she got older, and was grateful for it. The three of them always got together on holidays, alternating the host. Easter had been at her second oldest brother's house this year, and last Christmas had been at her oldest brother's... So that meant...

"Shit." Allison cursed. "Kane, we're hosting Thanksgiving this year." Allison sighed, then her eyes widened. How could she host a Thanksgiving dinner in House's apartment!?

Turning around, master and mutt made their way back to the hotel. When she slid into the room, she saw House sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. "Morning." He yawned.

"Greg," she sat down on the bed after unhooking Kane's leash, "I have a problem." She told him.

Turning to look at her, House quirked an eyebrow, "Care to explain said problem?"

"I'm suppose to host Thanksgiving this year." She told him.

"For?"

"My brothers and their significant others."

"How many brothers do you have?"

"Two."

House shrugged, "Why is that a problem?"

Allison quirked an eyebrow. "You'd let me invite my brothers over to your apartment for Thanksgiving?" She asked disbelievingly.

House shrugged, "Why not?"

Allison gaped for a moment. She hadn't expected him to be so open about meeting her family.

"Why not your parents too?" He asked curiously.

"We don't talk to our parents anymore." Allison replied.

House decided not to press the question he was begging to ask at that particular moment, instead he got up. "It's not a problem." And he went to the bathroom to shower.

Allison sat on the bed for a moment before she grabbed her cell phone. Thanksgiving was only two weeks away from Thursday, and she had to tell her brothers that she'd moved.

"Hey, Bry." Allison grinned when she heard her second oldest brother pick up the phone. "It's your baby sister... I'm good, how's Lolie?" She asked, referring to her brother's wife. "That's good, glad to hear it. Yeah, I'm still hosting Thanksgiving. Just calling to tell you that it's not at my apartment... Because mine burned down... Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm living with my boyfriend, so it's going to be at his apartment... No, he's fine with it, I already asked him... Okay, I'll call you next week with directions, okay? Bye." She hung up and called her oldest brother, "Hi, Ste, it's Ally... Yeah, I'm just calling to tell you Thanksgiving's going to be at my boyfriend's apartment, because mine burned down... No, I'm fine! Don't worry... Yes Bry already knows... Okay, I'll call you next week with directions... Okay, bye big brother!" She hung up and flopped onto the pillows.

Phone conversations were always short between the three of them, wanting to save conversation and updates on life for when they were together.

Lying on the bed, Allison decided to feed Kane while she waited for House to get out of the shower. When Kane was fed and she was once again lounging on the bed, he finally emerged.

"So," he began, lying on the bed beside her, only a towel around his waist, "why didn't you tell me you have brothers?"

Allison shrugged, "It never came up." She replied.

"Uh huh." House nodded, "Well, at least I can escape Wilson for once."

Allison laughed, "You want to get some lunch?" She asked, trailing her fingers down his arm. He nodded, "I saw a restaurant when I was walking Kane. It looked interesting."

House got up and began to dress. She watched him intently as he dressed, observing how he managed to get around without using his cane as much as he had to in the hospital. However, he did pop a Vicodin and chew it, which made her realize that he was mostly walking without his cane for show, and not because it wouldn't make it easier for him. She was intrigued by his vexation for his cane. Maybe he felt old using it.

"Why do you do that?" Allison asked.

"What?" House grunted as he pulled on his pants and fastened them.

"Walk without your cane?"

"It helps build up the muscle I have left." He replied, "It's getting easier."

"Really?" Part of her didn't believe him.

House nodded, "Yeah, now I can walk two steps instead of half of one before it starts hurting." He answered, rubbing his thigh a little to ease the discomfort.

Allison smiled at him as he pulled on a shirt, grabbed his cane and the two went out for lunch. When they were seated at the restaurant and had their drinks, House looked at her for a moment before striking up conversation.

"So, what are your brothers like?" He asked, taking a swig from his beer.

Allison smiled, happy that he wanted to know, "Well, my oldest brother's name is Stephen. He's tall and gangly. He's a veterinarian in Pennsylvania. He's kind of been my confidant my entire life until we all moved apart. The three of us lived in an apartment together when I turned 18. It was tough, but we had a great time. His life partner, Morgan, is a really sweet guy. They've been together for... Oh... Eight years now."

House looked across the table at her, "He's gay?"

Allison nodded. "Yeah, his partner is actually a year and a half younger than me. Ste felt a little awkward about it at first, because they were dating while Morgan was in his senior year of high school."

"What does Morgan do?" House asked.

"He's a pilot." Allison replied and took a sip of her diet coke, "Bryce is kind of the over achiever of the three of us." She laughed a little. "He got married a couple years after we all got the apartment together. His wife Lolie is adorable, she was practically my big sister when I was in high school."

House nodded, "Do they have any kids?" He asked.

"They're working on their first. No luck yet." Allison told him.

"Will I be meeting all four of them?" He asked. "Or just your brothers?"

"All four, that's okay, right?" She asked, biting the corner of her lip.

"That's fine. You're cooking though."

Allison laughed, "I figured that much."

They continued on with conversation. Allison quickly realized that House had no intention of discussing his own family, and she began to wonder about it. She didn't want to pry, chalking it up to yet another House fact she'd have to wait and get out of him when he was feeling more open. They were rare occurrences and she had to pick her secret topic wisely because he'd clam up and get moody when she tried to ask questions about something he wasn't prepared to talk about. Allison still hadn't found the right time to talk about his family.

When they got back to the hotel, Allison flopped onto the bed, feeling very tired, considering how late she'd slept in and how little they had done. While she began to doze, Allison had a nagging feeling in the back of her head. She couldn't place what it was, but it was bothering her. Like she'd forgotten to do something important, but couldn't quite place what it was.

After the disruption in her usual routine the previous morning, when House had woken her with the command of packing, she couldn't be sure what she'd forgotten. But _damnit_ it felt _really_ important.

Too tired to figure it out at that moment, Allison dozed off with the assurance that it would come to her later.

TBC

A/N: I figured it was time for a nice cliffhanger, and now seemed like a good time :)- Andi 


	18. Chapter 18

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Eighteen: Do You Really Wanna Know? 

Under the stars.

Their third day on vacation and they were once again under the stars. However, this time, House had brought a telescope, which Allison continued to wonder how he'd hidden it so well.

He was lining up the lens and was just starting to focus it while she watched in curiosity. He'd never shown any interest in astronomy before and it had her wondering. Kane was running around the open field freely, which Allison was biting her lip over. If her dog ran into that telescope, House may kill her.

"Okay, I think I got it..." House squinted into the viewer, made another tiny adjustment and took her hand. "Look." He said quietly before he pulled away to let her see.

Allison quirked an eyebrow at him and knelt in front of the telescope. Pulling her hair to one side, she placed her eye over the viewer and gasped. "Oh my God..." She said breathlessly, holding the telescope in place as she stared into it.

Remembering once, a long time ago, when her and her oldest brother were younger, and she was in her first year of college; Allison and Stephen had been lying on a patch of grass in a park. A cheap telescope was planted a few feet away, but hardly used. On a clear night they'd gone to the park to look at Saturn, but the planet was too bright and they only saw a ghost of an outline of the planet. But the failure to gaze on it didn't stop them from lying in the grass and staring up at the few stars that penetrated the light polluted air. They'd talked about a lot that night, no particular conversation sticking in her mind with exception of one. They'd talked about building a house in the desert and having a big telescope so they could star gaze every night and look at any planet that was visible.

Of course the desert home had never been built, and they never had the opportunity to see the Saturn, but it was still a nice memory.

"Greg." Allison pulled away, no longer able to look at the ringed planet through her tear blurred eye. She brushed away the stray tear and looked at him. "Thank you." She kissed him gently. He just nodded and wrapped his arms around her.

They fell onto the blanket and just looked up at the star speckled sky. A few clouds drifted passed, but none large or thick enough to obscure their view. "Why don't you see your parents anymore?" House asked quietly.

Allison sighed, wishing to hold on a moment longer to the surreal escape from life and not be forced back to reality. Finally she answered, "Our parents were not very close to us. Stephen and Bryce practically raised me. So one of them always stayed at the house with me until I turned 18. Then I moved out and lived with them until Bryce got married. After my first year of college, Stephen moved away with his boyfriend and I went out on my own." She curled against him. "Greg... Why do you hate your father?" She asked gently.

Feeling the muscles of his body tense ever so slightly, Allison thought that he would just clam up or change the subject, but he surprised her, "I was an army brat. Moved all over the world and never had any friends. I kind of got used to being on my own." He paused for a moment, "My only real friend was my mom, but my dad would yell at her for babying me and letting me get away with everything. He'd make up for her relaxed way of upbringing by coming down hard on me." He let it trail off there.

Allison looked at him, trying not to draw her own conclussions about what House meant by his father being hard on him. However, his inability to elaborate had her mind creating horrible scenarios of a young Greg being beaten and locked up in a small room. She knew her imagination was probably getting the better of her, but she was still concerned.

Letting the subject drop, Allison held him tighter, "Do you have any siblings?" She asked.

"No."

"Oh..." Allison frowned, "I can't wait for you to meet my brothers." She beamed a smile at him and rose, placing her hands on either side of his body to let him see her grin. "I think you and Ste will get along great!"

House wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap. "What makes you say that?" He asked, running his hands up her thigh and back up to cup her posterior.

Allison shrugged and leaned back, placing her weight against his groin. "I think you two have similar personalities."

"I'm not gay." House pointed out.

"Being gay isn't a personality trait. You wouldn't know Ste was gay by looking at him or listening to him... You might if you ever saw him dance though." Her brow scrunched, causing House to laugh.

House patted her rear before he ran his hands up her back and pulled her flush against his chest so he could kiss her. Allison giggled at the feel of his hands sliding down his back to cup her ass once again. She shimmied her hips to rub against his. House groaned and pulled at the hem of her skirt to cup her bare ass.

Allison rolled her hips and let her hands trail down his sides as she sat up. A coy smile spread over her lips as he used his hands to rub her body against his erection. She could feel him pressing up against her ass and it made a rush of heat shoot through her. Allison grabbed the other blanket and draped it over her shoulders before she made quick work of House's fly.

Pulling her panties to the side, House thrust up inside her once she'd released his hard erection. Head lulling to the side, Allison moaned softly as she began to rise and fall onto his cock. Feeling him inside of her was an instant flurry of heat. The nearly frigid air had their breaths rising in foggy clouds while a fire was being stoked in their bellies. Hot and cold ran from either end and met in the middle, leaving a weightless feeling in their hearts when ice met lava.

Crying out as he shot his seed into her belly, Allison froze momentarily, suddenly thrown from her climax by a startling realization. She finally figured out what she'd forgotten, and it made her body stiffen with shock.

"What's wrong?" House panted, surprised that she'd frozen up on him. One minute she'd been on the edge with him, the next she'd been thrown completely out of the mood.

Allison shook her head then looked over her shoulder, "Where's Kane!?" She recovered so that he wouldn't suspect anything. House quirked an eyebrow at her as he propped himself up on his arms and then pointed out into the field where Kane was running along the tree line. "Oh!" Allison got up and straightened her clothes.

House stood up, his eyebrows scrunched in curiosity. It wasn't like Cameron to 180 on him. Sure, he did it every other moment, but then he also had a _slight_ drug problem and an easily annoyed temper. At least he had an excuse for his mood swings. "Ally, what?"

"What?" Allison turned and looked at him, her eyes big and too innocent. "Huh?... Nothing..." She turned, back completely straight with nerves because she knew he was watching her walk to the car.

Eyes narrowed in suspicion, House gathered up the blankets and telescope, following her back to the car. He called out to Kane, who came rushing towards him. "I wonder what's wrong with her..." He said quietly as the dog went into step with him. "Kane, I need you to go undercover and across enemy lines. Go find out what's wrong with my woman!" He whispered in a commanding tone as he pointed to Allison. Kane barked and dashed towards Allison, nearly tackling the woman.

"Kane! Down!" Allison snapped as the dog jumped up. Kane lowered her head, her tail drooping. After letting Kane into the back seat, Allison sat up front while House loaded the trunk back up.

"You hurt Kane's feelings." House returned, sitting in the driver's seat. Allison didn't say anything as he started the car and began driving back towards the city. "What's wrong?" He asked again.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Allison said, staring out the window.

"Ally, you're a horrible liar, that's why you always tell the truth blatantly so that no one believes you." House pointed out. She glared at him, and House stopped the car abruptly. "Damn it, Cameron!" House yelled, "I'm not going to guess!" She continued staring at him, her face giving away nothing. "Fine." He pulled off to the side of the road and turned off the car.

"Greg, I'm not doing this here." Allison crossed her arms over her chest and went back to looking ou the window.

Sitting with his hands gripping the steering wheel, House looked forward out the windshield. He didn't look at Allison and she didn't look at him. A full minute passed where neither moved or spoke to the other. Finally, when the silence became stale and unending, House fired the engine back to life and began driving once again.

Returning to their hotel room, Allison took a pillow and blanket and went into the bathroom, locking the door. House flopped onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling as Kane jumped up with him, curling against his side. Delving a hand into his pocket, House took out his Vicodin and popped a couple. He was angry. Scratch that. He was pissed OFF!

Replaying the evening in his head, House knew for a fact that her mood swing had nothing to do with anything he did or did not do. This was purely an Allison Cameron issue, not his. But part of him ached that she didn't feel close enough to him to share what had caused her to suddenly become nervous and afraid.

The silence was thick as he pondered, and it took him a moment to realize that it was not as quiet as he'd first thought. There was a sound coming from the bathroom that sounded suspiciously like weeping. Not bawling, not crying. Weeping. A solemn sound. Weeping was the hardest thing to digest. It was the sound of lost hope, of a broken heart. And as he listened to her, he felt his own heart clench painfully in his chest.

Getting off of the bed, House went and sat by the bathroom door, already knowing it was locked. "Ally." He called gently through the door, "Ally, what's wrong?" He asked in a soft croon.

Allison sat in the tub, holding the pillow to her chest as she muffled her cries with it. She couldn't tell him what was happening. If she did, it could cause a much larger problem. With a rattling inhale of breath, Allison told him to go away.

She couldn't tell him she'd forgotten to bring her birth control pills with her when they'd left Monday morning. Three days off the pill was a huge risk, and now she was worried. Nothing helped either. She couldn't take security in the relationship she had with House, and that he wouldn't leave her if she was pregnant. Sure, she could raise the kid herself, but what would it do to her relationship? Allison shook her head. She was overreacting! She was freaking out over something she wasn't even sure was going to happen. Taking a deep, shaking breath, Allison got out of the tub and opened the door, causing House to fall through the doorway.

"Hi." He waved from where he'd landed at her feet. Kane was wagging her tail in the distance, looking at her master curiously. "Are you okay now?" He asked.

Allison nodded, "I'm sorry. I'm just not feeling good." She wiped away a stray tear ruthlessly. "Just... Between the craziness of the week, and the emotional stuff..." Allison sighed, "I don't know what happened... Maybe my periods coming up."

House laughed and got up, wrapping his arms around her. "Come on, let's go to bed." He gave her a light peck on the lips as they walked back to the bed.

Knowing that Allison had lied to him, House lay awake pondering what she was hiding. She had already fallen asleep, and now he was left to himself to question her deceit. What could have suddenly come over her while they were making love, and throw her completely off balance like that? He couldn't think of anything that could trigger that reaction from having sex. Then again, women could get to quite a few thoughts branching one off of another. Their inner monologue could go from, "Yeah, baby, just like that!" to "Did I turn off the stove after I made soup?" This left a lot of wriggle room for what she'd realized.

This was calling for some major investigating. He would have to figure this out, and quick, before she had another emotional melt down. But how to go about it?

TBC

A/N- Wow, I actually made you guys wait for once:o

Sorry, writer's block is a BITCH! But I think I've got a few ideas now ;) Lean back and enjoy the ride!- Andi 


	19. Chapter 19

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Nineteen: It Was A Weird Day

Allison took a deep breath.

She was sitting in the women's bathroom, on top of a toilet, holding an at home pregnancy test. Unable to bring one to the apartment, where House could easily stumble upon it, Allison was forced to sneak to a nearby pharmacy, purchase one, and smuggle it back into the hospital to take the test in the bathroom. She knew she could easily run the test through a machine at the hospital, but she didn't want to raise suspicion. There was a high possibility that no one would notice, but she just couldn't risk it!

Her and House had made it through the rest of their vacation without her having an anxiety attack, but she was tense and no amount of telling herself that she was probably overreacting would calm her nerves. Repeating her coaxing mantra for a whole ten days had kept her from throwing up with nervousness, she had even managed to make it to the usual time for her period. But when the PMS didn't kick in and her period hadn't come, Allison finally went to the pharmacy to confirm or eliminate her suspicions.

Now, as she sat on the toilet, staring at her watch as the pregnancy test sat on the steel box to her right, Allison would jump as anyone would enter the bathroom. Ringing her perspiring hands, Allison wiped them on her pants before she picked up the test. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes and look at it!

Taking another deep breath, Allison managed to crack one eye open ever so slightly. When she saw the result, Allison felt her heart clench and her throat tighten.

---------------

House was staring at Allison as she came back into the department. She had a look like someone had just told her Kane had been hit by a semi. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing..." Allison said absently.

House watched her sit down and pondered. He'd noticed very interesting changes in her since their trip to West Virginia. Upon returning, she'd been oddly tired, to the point that she'd slept from the moment they'd come home on Saturday until close to noon the next day. Then on Sunday night he'd seen her cupping her breasts in front of the bathroom mirror, a look of contemplation on her face. She'd placed her hand on her stomach and... Oh, shit...

"I'll be right back..." House got up and walked into the hallway, down to the elevator, got in and just hit a random button as he slumped to the floor and held his head in his hands. "Oh, shit... Allison's pregnant..." He took a deep breath. "Okay... I can deal with this." He told himself as he ran his fingers through his hair and stabbed the diagnostics floor with his cane from where he sat on the floor. "Shit." He punched the numbers between the floor he was on and diagnostics to give himself more time. "Why didn't she tell me?" He wondered, violently running his fingers through his hair. "Maybe she _thinks_ she might be pregnant?"

House pressed his palms over his eyes. When the elevator arrived at his floor he stood up and walked out. Taking a deep breath, House reentered diagnostics. He saw Allison still sitting at the table, staring off. A pang ran through his heart as he watched her solemn expression. She seemed so distraught, and that hurt him. Was she upset that she might be pregnant with his kid?

Allison looked in House's direction and gave him a small smile. He smiled back, okay, maybe it was shock? Maybe she was just thrown for a loop with being pregnant and it didn't necessarily have to do with carrying his child. They stared at each other for a moment, neither speaking, until she turned her head back to a file, and he ran his hand through his hair and went into his office.

Maybe he was jumping to conclusions.

Maybe she wasn't pregnant. Maybe she just put a couple of pounds on and was examining her body trying to figure out where the extra weight had accumulated... Okay, now he was being too optimistic.

Sitting at his desk, House watched Chase and Foreman come in and sit by Allison.

"So, Cameron, finally back into the flow of work?" Foreman asked, "This whole week you've been kind of out of it." He pointed out.

"Yeah, I was a little distracted. My brother's are coming to Thanksgiving dinner next week and I've been trying to figure out what to cook." She laughed, starting to feel more like her self.

"Wow, so House is going to meet your family?" Chase straddled a chair and looked at her. "That's a pretty big step. When's he going to meet you parents?"

Allison shrugged and went back to filling in one of House's charts. She still couldn't believe that her and House had been back almost an entire week. It still felt like yesterday when they were driving back up to New Jersey. Maybe they could go back again someday.

With a sigh, Allison went back to concentrating on the file. Her mind was still picturing the pregnancy test and its response. Her heart clenched as she remembered reading it and how it had effected her. She hadn't expected to feel the way that she did, but she couldn't help it...

"Cameron, I need to see you in here." House called from his office.

Brow scrunching in confusion, Allison closed the file and stood up to meet him at the door. It was weird sitting across from him, the desk between them. "What's up?" She asked, seating herself comfortably.

"Are you..." House began, but stopped, raking his finger through his hair. "What I mean is..." He pressed his palms to his eyes and tried again. "You're pregnant." Completely NOT how he meant to say it. Allison stared at him a moment.

"Greg-"

"No! No, I didn't mean it like that... I mean... How did you... No... That's not... Are you pregnant? Because if you are, it's all right, I just need to keep you away from Radiology and we have to tell Cuddy because she'll flip out if you come in contact with any chemicals..." He was babbling. He knew he was babbling, but he needed to say something, and couldn't risk her interrupting before he said it. What was it he was trying to say? Shit, he'd have to keep babbling until he remembered. "Because you could cause a serious insurance problem if you're exposed to harmful chemicals that could endanger the fetus, er... baby... Baby fetus... Shit..."

"Greg-"

"I mean, I'm fine with you being pregnant! I'm not flipping out or anything-"

"I can see that." Allison replied in amusement. It wasn't everyday that Gregory House was flustered. "Greg-"

"I just mean... I... I love you, and I'm not going to shove this off on you." Oh shit. He said the "L" word, and completely out of a romantic setting. He said I love you to her for the first time in the worst setting possible. Allison was sitting frozen in surprise. House stood up and paced behind his desk.

"Greg... I love you too." She finally smiled, standing up to walk around his desk. "And... I'm not pregnant. I took the test earlier, it was negative."

House fell into his chair heavily, "Wow." Was all he could say. He was floored by that statement. Not by being wrong, but by how hollow he now felt. At first he was scared that she was pregnant, and now all he felt was hurt that she wasn't. Initially, he'd recoiled, but had recovered, feeling excited. Now he just felt silly.

"I know."

"I do love you." He looked up at her. "I wasn't just saying it."

"I know." She smiled, sitting down on his knee. "I love you too. I was just worried about telling you."

House laughed, "Guess we needed a pregnancy scare to get it out of one of us then." Allison laughed a little as well.

"Greg..." Allison looked him in the eyes, "I know that we haven't been dating long and this is a really big question-"

"Allison, so far we've kind of run through the whole courtship stage of a relationship. I believe we're on the accelerated program now." House replied, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Do you ever want to have kids?" She asked.

House smirked, "I'm getting pretty old now, Ally. Ever is nearing an end."

She swatted his chest, "You're not old."

House shrugged, "What about you?" He asked.

Allison bit her lip, "I thought I'd already be a mom at my age."

"Ally, you're not even thirty yet." He pointed out. "I'm the relic."

She rolled her eyes, "You're not a relic." Allison wrapped her arms around his neck. "And you're not reaching the end yet with the kids topic." She looked up and pondered for a moment, "Do you think we're taking this too fast?" She asked. "Do you ever just stop and wonder if we're still in the early dating glow?"

"Ally, we're both too damaged to have early dating glow." He pulled her closer to himself, "And I don't say I love you before I'm ready to say it. And I never say it if I don't intend on feeling it for a very long time."

Curling against him, Allison hugged him tightly before standing up. "Well... Back to work, I guess." She began walking towards the door, leaving House to his thoughts.

Jacking his iPod into the speakers, House turned on a blues tune and leaned back in his chair. His fingers laced, locking behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. Despite the talking they'd done, House began to wonder about kids. He'd never felt compelled to procreate, but he'd never questioned if he'd actually want to. Until that moment, the diagnostician had never contemplated children, and now that the question had been thrust upon him so violently, he realized just how much he'd missed out on. He couldn't deny he was getting older, and Allison, despite her assurances that he wasn't passed his reproducing expiration date, he still felt unsure. Yeah, he could still have kids. He'd be able to technically have kids until the day he died, but would he be able to be there for them? Despite the God complex everyone said he had, House knew he wasn't going to live forever. And how would he feel, or how would his kids feel having a fifty some year old dad when they were in elementary school?

It hurt, but House couldn't help feeling like he'd dismissed something he'd actually wanted.

"Wow, it's only 10:30 in the morning, and the blues are a blasting." Wilson sat down in the chair Allison had sat in earlier.

"Go away, Wilson." House muttered, not looking from the ceiling.

Wilson's eyebrows scrunched, "What happened." It wasn't a question, it was a demand for an explanation.

"Am I too old to have kids?"

Wilson spit his mouthful of coffee back into the mug. "What?"

House sat back up in his chair and stared at his computer, "Do you think it'd be a bad idea if I had a kid?" He looked at his friend, "And don't give me any of that, "You're only as old as you feel" bullshit."

Wilson set his coffee mug on the desk and put his hands to his face, "Is Ally pregnant?" He asked.

"No... But I thought she was." House stared at the coffee mug, tempted to swipe it up, only stopped by the fact that Wilson had just spit his coffee back into it.

"And how did you feel when you thought she was?" Wilson leaned back against his chair.

House stood up and put his hands in his lower back as he stared out through the glass wall at his ducklings gossiping over coffee. "I felt." He took a deep breath. "I felt scared, but then." He grabbed his bottle of Vicodin, looked at it, and put it in his pocket. "And then I felt excited."

"And when she told you she wasn't pregnant?" Wilson watched his friend grab his cane and begin to pace.

"Floored."

"Good or bad floored?"

"Bad floored." House replied, tapping his finger over the Vicodin bottle in his pocket. "But relieved."

"House, you're not too old to have kids, but I feel sorry for the little guy that'll have to have you as a father." Wilson stood up. "They'll have so many complexes they'll probably never be able to function in a normal society."

"Thanks."

Wilson picked up his mug, held it to House in a silent tribute and left.

Left once more to his own mind, House figured if he was meant to have kids with Ally, then it would be at the pace whatever power had put them at.

--------

Allison rubbed her aching back in annoyance. Of course after she'd spent the money and taken the pregnancy test she would get her period. Popping a Midol into her mouth she swallowed it with a swig of water before stepping into her next patient's room. The woman inside was holding a toddler in her lap as she complained about self diagnosed sciatica.

"Mrs... Raugo, " Allison couldn't stop staring at the child in the woman's arms, "where is the pain?" She asked.

"My leg. I already told you it was sciatica." Mrs. Raugo replied huffily.

"What part of your leg? Is the pain shooting down the front, side or back of your leg?" Allison asked, trying to remain professional despite her doubt in the patient's own diagnoses.

"The front of my leg hurts really bad." The woman rubbed her quadricep painfully.

"Mrs. Raugo, sciatica usually refers pain in the lower back and runs down the back of the legs. How long have you had the pain?" She asked, confirmed that it wasn't sciatica.

"Since a couple of days ago after my pilates class." The woman answered.

"How long have you been taking pilates?" Allison was already drawing a conclusion in her head.

"This was my second class this week."

"You have a pulled muscle, Mrs. Raugo." Allison wrote in the file. "You may want to alternate some hot and cold compresses." The immunologist stood up. "If it persists, you may want to start with a beginners yoga class rather than jumping strait into pilates." Allison went towards the door, only giving a backwards glance to look at the toddler one more time before she left.

A few hours later, Allison flopped into her chair in the diagnostics department and groaned. How was it possible to have an entire clinic shift filled with children? Runny noses, mom's with babies, a tiny coughs, dad's with babies. It was like the entire universe was laughing at her biological clock.

She was pouting. She knew she was pouting. She knew she was pouting because House was looking at her with his head cocked to the side, contemplating why she was pouting.

"What?" She snapped at her boyfriend.

"You're pouting." He pointed out.

"I knew it." Allison muttered to herself.

"Why is my poor Ally pouting?" He asked, closing the distance and sitting next to her, his hand resting on her knee.

Allison sighed, rubbing her aching abdomen, praying for a nice painkiller. "I don't know..." She muttered, pouting harder.

House looked at her a moment and how she was massaging her abdomen. "Ah, someone got their period." He realized. "I'm so glad you wasted your money on that pregnancy test."

"You're a bastard." She glared.

"But you love me for it." He pointed out, rising to wrap his arms around her.

Allison smiled slightly and nodded, "Yeah, I love you for it." She nuzzled her cheek against his. "Do you want to watch a movie tonight? You, me, Kane, and a big Chinese take-out dinner?" She asked.

"Mmm, a woman after my own heart." He put his hands on her hips and gently kissed her lips.

"I thought I already had your heart." Her eyes glowed prettily.

House smirked, "Yeah, I guess you do. Now, what movie did you have in mind?" He asked.

"The Princess Bride?"

TBC

A/N- Hey! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm trying to get back to the comedy, I know we've been wandering into drama, not so much angst, but I NEED some more comedy! - REVIEW :D- Andi. 


	20. Chapter 20 YAY 20!

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Twenty: Wine, Dogma, Inside Jokes, and Euchre

House wobbled to the side as a shopper nearly plowed him over trying to get the last can of cranberry sauce. "Jeez, people are homicidal this time of year." He grunted as another shopper smacked him in the back with a bag of stuffing. "Ow, damnit! Ally!" He shouted over the waves of shoppers.

"What?" She called back, standing with a shopping cart and narrowly missing a smack to the head with a frozen turkey.

"The mob has got me! Go on! Save yourself!" He yelled as he disappeared behind a flock of women and their carts.

Allison chuckled to herself. She hadn't meant to put off shopping for Thanksgiving dinner, but between work and the crazy holiday rush's of stupid people injuries, she hadn't been able to get out until the two days before the holiday!

"Ouch!" Allison grunted as a customer hit the backs of her ankles with their cart.

"What do you mean you're out of turkeys!" A customer was screaming at a poor employee. Allison rolled her eyes. Like it was the teenager's fault that they had run out of the desired poultry.

"M'am, I'm sorry, but unless you had ordered one, there's nothing we can do about it at this moment. If you would like to put in a request with the meat department, we may be able to have one thawed out for you the day of Thanksgiving. We will be opening an hour earlier that day, and if you come in when we open then the Turkey should be ready in time for your dinner." The employee explained.

In a huff, the customer left to negotiate with the meat department. The employee sighed and rubbed her temples before she came over to Allison with a big grin that didn't let on that she'd been dealing with these people all day. That grin made Allison realize something right away.

"Aren't you a cashier?" Allison asked, recognizing the girl from when she and House had been there for the first time.

"Yeah, but I'm a runner for the next few days." The girl replied. "Can I help you with anything this evening?"

"A runner?" Allison asked then wanted to hit herself for wasting the girl's time. "I mean, umm, I need to find the chopped almonds."

"Okay, follow me." The employee grinned and began walking into the mob of people, glancing back to make sure Allison could keep up. "We call cashiers who aren't on register runners. They hop around the store taking care of people and helping other departments, and running register for the cashiers who go on break." She explained.

"Oh." Allison wasn't focusing on the way they were going, only on the purple shirt that lead her to her bounty.

"Chopped almonds." The girl gestured to the shelf.

"Thanks."

"So, did your boyfriend get lost, or are you shopping alone this time?" The girl asked.

Allison smirked, "He's been swallowed by the mob." She pointed at the mass of people, choking on a laugh when she saw his cane waving above the crowd.

"Well, I hope you have a good Thanksgiving." The girl grinned, "Hope to see you around more often with your boyfriend. You two are really cute together." The girl turned to leave.

"Wait!" Allison called, "Ummm, are you going to be running register any time soon?"

The girl looked at her watch. "Our next cashier's scheduled to go on break in about a half hour, so yeah." She looked at Allison. "Why?"

"I should shop quick then if I want you as a cashier then. What's your name?" Allison asked.

"Cecilia. I'll be on register six." She smirked.

Allison nodded and went back to shopping. She remembered that Cecilia had been a really fast cashier, and she kind of liked the girl. With a shrug, Allison tried to shop quickly. "Greg!?" She called out, trying to find her boyfriend.

"Ally! Save me!" House yelped, ducking behind a display to avoid the stampede.

Allison sighed, but laughed, "Come here." She took his hand and they began walking towards the registers. Allison glanced at her watch and sure enough Cecilia was relieving the cashier who was going on break.

"Ally, this is the longest line." House wined.

"It won't be." Allison answered.

Sure enough, the two of then started snaking up the line faster than any other lane.

"Hey, again." Cecilia laughed when she saw Allison. "I thought you were just messin' with me." She winked.

"Not at all."

House looked in the cart, "We're having steak for Thanksgiving?" He asked.

"Yeah, my oldest brother has a poultry allergy, and my second oldest brother doesn't eat pork. Loli is a vegetarian and Morgan isn't picky at all. So I'm making a veggie dinner for Loli and the rest of us are having steak." She explained.

"Wow, your family is nuts." House commented.

Allison rolled her eyes, "So, how much longer is your shift?" She asked the cashier.

Cecilia shrugged, "I got here at nine this morning. I was suppose to leave an hour ago, but we had a few call offs and now I'm closing. So I get to leave whenever the store clears."

House cocked his head at the cashier, "You're awfully familiar."

"I rang you out the night you were the last ones out of the store." She grinned at him. "We never forget the ones who keep us here." She joked.

"Sorry about that." Allison blanched.

Cecilia shrugged and totaled the order. "You were new, so you had some leverage." She told them the total, they paid and left.

"Interesting."

"What?"

"You actually are showing loyalties to a cashier." House laughed.

Allison rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for liking a cashier."

"Well you were right. She can ring people out quick." Allison smirked at him as they loaded the car, "Yeah, I think she's going to be my cashier."

"Your cashier? You have to claim them now a days?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes and laughed, "No, just, whenever I go to the store I think I'll go through her line when she's there."

"Ah." House nodded, "So you stalk other people, not just me? And here I thought I was special." He took the cart and and placed his foot on the bottom bar before launching himself towards the cart return. Allison laughed at his juvenile action. When he returned they got in the car and drove home. "Are you sure you have everything for Thursday?" He asked, placing his hand over hers on her knee.

Allison nodded, going over the list of items they'd purchased at the store. "Yeah, I got everything."

"I am now officially scared of grocery stores." He announced, leaning back into the driver's seat. "Some woman tried to steal my cane because she thought I was going to take the last bag of cranberries." Allison laughed, "You mock me?"

She shook her head, still mirthful, "No, I just think you're cute."

"Uh huh, I'll show you cute later." He squeezed her hand before lifting it and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. "Ally..."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Allison looked at him, eyes narrowed, "You lie."

House laughed, "Nothing, really." He assured, "I was going to ask you something and changed my mind."

"What were you going to ask me?" She quirked an eyebrow.

House shrugged, "Nothing important."

She glared at him.

"The glare will not work on me, Ally." He smirked, "I've been under its scrutiny too many times."

Allison fought back her laughter, trying not to let on that she was too amused to question him further. Her stifled laughter was music to his ears the rest of the car ride home.

-----------

Allison scurried around the apartment, setting the table, putting food on the counter, picking up that one stray piece of dirt that had tried to ruin her pristine floors. "How do I look?" She asked, running her hands down the front of her skirt and then fixing her hair which still looked as amazing as it had when she'd done it an hour ago.

"Gorgeous, now sit down and relax before they get here and you give yourself an ulcer." He patted the sofa, tempting her to sit down.

With a grunt, Allison flopped onto the couch, but no sooner had she sat down a knock came at the door. As Allison jumped up from the couch, House stood up slowly and caught up with her at the door where she straitened her skirt one more time, ran her fingers through her long, straight hair again and then opened the door.

"STE!" Allison cried, enveloping her brother with her excited arms. Stephen wrapped his arms around his little sister's waist and gave her a quick squeeze before she pulled away and gave the man next to him a big hug as well, "Hi, Morgan, how are you?"

"Good." He kissed her cheek and they both entered.

House looked at the two men. Both were very tall and had short brown hair. Stephen was gangly looking, and Morgan was more defined. Their hands were held tightly together and both were beaming at Allison.

"Guys, this is Gregory House." She gestured to House, "My boyfriend."

"We pieced that together, Ally." Stephen held out his hand and shook House's. The man's hands were very cold and a little moist. Stephen quickly withdrew and Morgan just as quickly took House's hand. Strangely, Morgan's hand was very warm and dry. "Bryce and Loli here yet?" Stephen asked.

"No." Allison went to the kitchen and poured four glasses of wine and came back, offering them to her brother and his partner. She held the two other glasses as she and House went to sit on the couch. As if on que, a knock came at the door and Allison rolled her eyes, "Who saw that one coming?" She laughed, setting the two wine glasses on the coffee table and going to the door. "Hey, Bry. Hey Loli." Allison greeted the two with a hug before letting them enter the apartment. "This is Gregory House." She gestured to House on the sofa.

Bryce immediately went over and shook House's hand with a firm grip before sitting down with Loli. "So, what do you all do?" House asked as Alliison went to poor two more glasses of wine. He fought back the urge to ring his hands, it was just so weird meeting so many new people.

Stephen took a sip of his wine, "I'm a veterinarian, and Morgan is a pilot." He placed a hand on Morgan's knee and smiled at him.

"I'm a lawyer." Bryce smiled as Allison handed him and Loli a glass.

"And I'm a pediatrician." Loli raised her hand. "You're a doctor right?"

House nodded, "I'm a diagnostician with strong background in nephrology."

There was a long moment of silence.

And more silence.

"So..." Bryce put his hand in his coat pocket. "Anyone in the mood for Dogma?" He pulled the DVD out of his pocket. Allison laughed loudly as did Morgan and Stephen.

"Can you go anywhere without a movie?" Loli smacked him. She looked at House and explained, "When we got married he had five large DVD racks filled. After we got married and our movies fused we had seven racks. Now nearly ten year's later we're up to twelve." She rolled her eyes.

"I wish I had time to watch that many movies." House laughed.

"What are you talking about!? All you have is time." Allison smacked him, "Just buy a portable DVD player and watch movies instead of playing video games."

House laughed, "Yeah, but Cuddy interrupts me too often to enjoy a movie." He pointed out as he took the DVD from her brother and put it in the player.

Curling up with their significant others, the three couples laughed their way through the movie until it was over and Allison got up to serve dinner.

"Bry, you wanna cook the stakes?" Allison asked as she pulled the potato casserole out of the oven.

"Sure." He got up and took the stakes out of the fridge. "Okay, Ste and Ally medium rare. Morgan, is it still well done?" Bryce asked as he went towards the grill sitting on the balcony.

"Yeah, thanks." Morgan got up as well to help Allison get the table set.

"And how do you take your stake, Gregory?" Bryce asked as he opened the door.

"Medium rare." House grabbed his cane and got up to go to the kitchen. "And you can call me Greg, or House."

"Okay, Greg." Bryce nodded and went out to the balcony where the grill was smoking from when they'd got it started close to the end of the movie.

Soon the table was set and all six sat with their feast in the center of the table. Bryce came in with the platter of stakes and put them on each of their plates based on the severity that they'd been grilled.

"Greg, would you like to make the toast?" Morgan asked politely as they passed around the wine bottle to refill their glasses.

House was surprised as he accepted the bottle, "Why me?"

"You're home." They all shrugged in unison before Stephen continued to explain, "And if we let Ally say the toast again this year we'll have to listen to her rant over the destruction of the Native American civilization."

With a great laugh, House agreed and held up his glass, "To family, loved ones and new acquaintances." Everyone clinked glasses and took a sip of wine. After that they dug into their dinners.

House watched with intrigue as a shuffle of food went about between the plates. Stephen cut the spears off of his asparagus, as did Bryce, after which the brothers exchanged parts. Bryce with all stems, Stephen with all spears. Allison picked out all of the green peppers from her salad and put them in Loli's and Loli took all of the cherry tomatoes out of her salad and put them in Morgan's.

"Ally, where's Kane?" Stephen asked.

"In my room, you know Bry is going to feed her scraps from the table if she's out during dinner." She pointed out, cutting up her stake into small pieces.

Stephen laughed. "True." He looked at House, "Have you ever had a dog before?" He asked.

"No, I moved around a lot when I was a kid, so I could never have a pet." House answered. "But Kane's a sweet mutt." He smiled. "Do you have any pets?"

Morgan snorted, "More like a zoo." He winked at his partner, "He's always bringing his work home with him and never taking it back to work."

House smirked, "How long have you two been together?"

"Eleven years this December." Morgan smiled warmly.

"I'm glad Ally seems to finally be settling down." Bryce gestured.

"What about her first husband?" House's brow furrowed.

"They were-"

"-BIG RED TRUCK!" Allison cried out, stopping the conversation, making the other two couples laugh and House look at her blankly.

"What?" House asked after a moment of silence.

Stephen wiped his mouth with a napkin and explained, "When someone's going to bring up a topic we don't want to discuss we say "Big Red Truck" because Bryce did that a long time ago."

Allison gave a sarcastic leer at her brother, "Yes, and You is not a word."

"Fuck off." Stephen replied playfully.

"The family madness takes a while to get used to." Loli explained as she and Morgan gave him a sympathetic look. House nodded in agreement, "Sooner or later the stories become clear, and so does the fact that not a single family dinner will go on without the stories coming up."

House laughed and nodded again in understanding. "Yes, although I am now thinking about giving Ally a competency test."

"Okay, how about this one!" Ally was already laughing as she ignored House's comment. "That's not a shrimp, crab boat-"

"It's a tree made out of plastic!" Her and her brother's finished in a fit of giggles. House shook his head as the antics went on.

When food was eaten and the table was cleared, Bryce, Stephen, Allison and House started a game of euchre as Loli and Morgan watched. The two engaged with playful jibes at their significant others while the game went on. After the game everyone gathered around the door and hugged. "Okay, I'll see you guys next month." Allison hugged her brothers and then Loli and Morgan. House shook all of their hands and waved as they left.

Together, Allison and House cleaned the dishes and then flopped onto the couch. "I'm glad I got to meet your brothers." House held Allison close to himself on the couch. "You were right, Ste is an interesting guy."

Allison nodded happy that her boyfriend got along with everybody. She hadn't felt she could get any closer to House until this night. Now, she felt even more secure with him, knowing that he could get along so well with her family.

Nothing could ruin this night.

Or so she thought until a knock came on the door.

TBC!

A/N- Review!- Andi! 


	21. Chapter 21

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Twenty-one: Try and Tell Me This is Wrong

Allison's eyebrows scrunched together at the knock on the door. Had one of her brothers forgotten something? She glanced around for an item they may have left, but noted that their was nothing additional in the apartment.

With a sigh, Allison got off of the couch and went to the door to answer the continuous knocks. Throwing open the door, Allison's eyes widened, "Oh! Please, come in!" She opened the door wider as a man and woman entered the apartment.

"Hello, I'm Blythe House." The woman shook Allison's hand, "Greg's mother." Blythe shook Allison's hand, a big smile on her lips. "This is my husband John." She introduced. "And you are?" She asked politely.

"Allison Cameron." Allison saw House's head peak over the top of the couch, his eyes wide. "I'm sorry, we weren't expecting you." She apologised. "There's some leftovers from dinner if you're hungry." Allison flushed, feeling embarrassed that she couldn't offer her boyfriend's parents anything better than the leftovers from their Thanksgiving dinner.

"We've already eaten." John replied, his voice sounding almost agitated. "Where is our son?"

Allison looked towards the couch, "Over there." She gestured.

House gave an internal sigh and got up off of the couch, ignoring his cane and walking slowly to his parents.

Blythe hugged her son and as she pulled away, noted his missing cane, "Oh, Greg, you shouldn't push your leg-"

"Blythe, don't encourage him to use his crutch. It's about damn time he finally stopped limping around like a wounded mutt." John interjected sternly.

Allison's eyes narrowed. She knew that the relationship between House and his father were rocky, but she hadn't expected the older man to be condescending in front of her! Placing her hands on her hips, Allison turned to John and said sweetly, "How about we sit in the living room? Would either of you like a glass of wine?" She asked politely, trying to keep the evening out of the area of hostility.

"That sounds wonderful." Blythe smiled, "What kind of wine do you have?" She asked, following Allison into the kitchen.

As the two women ventured further away, House was left locking gazes with his father. "So," John began coldly, "are you opening an orphanage out of your home?"

"What makes you ask that?" House asked, not wanting to hear where that statement was going.

"You must be to have a young thing like that around here." John jerked his head towards Allison.

House's jaw clenched, but he avoided the biting remark that lingered on the tip of his tongue. Instead he chose his next words carefully, "Actually," he began darkly, "she's volunteered to humanize me by trying to overwrite the damage you caused when I was a kid."

John's gaze turned cold, "She's a child, and you're using her." He hissed quietly, trying not to embarrass the poor girl.

"Here you are." Allison handed Mr. House a glass of wine. "Shall we?" She gestured to the living room once again.

The tension was thick in the air as the four went to the living room and sat down. House wrapped his arm over Allison's shoulder as they sat side by side.

"Greg, your apartment is so clean!" Blythe cooed, "You wouldn't believe how messy he was as a boy!" She laughed.

"I can believe it!" Allison giggled, "This place was a mess before I moved in."

"You're living here?" John asked, setting his wine on the table and not touching it. Allison bit her lip.

"Yes, she's been living with me for a little over a month now. Two next week, right, Ally?" He asked. She nodded, tapping the pad of her finger on the stem of her wine glass nervously. "Her dog's here too."

"Oh! A dog? What kind?" Blythe asked excitedly. "I always wanted a puppy, but John doesn't like how messy they are." She explained.

"She's a German shepherd mix." Allison smiled at Blythe warmly. She now understood the dynamics of House's parents.

"So, Allison is it? How do you like living with my son?" John asked, folding his hands over his rounding stomach.

Allison fought back the urge to bite at her lip as she placed her hand gently on House's thigh. With a menacing thought, Allison smiled and replied, "I love it. He's a wonderful man, and I'm grateful for everyday I get to wake up with him." She told him truthfully.

"Then you're not concerned about how much older he is than you?" John pressed. "After all, a girl like you must plan on wanting to settle down and have a family."

Allison tilted her head, "Do you find that to be impossible for me to have with Greg?" She asked sweetly.

"Well, he is in his forties. Don't you think if he'd wanted to settle down, he would have by now?" John was playing off of womanly ambitions. A cheap shot, but not necessarily always an efficient one.

Allison straitened her posture, "Do you think that, perhaps, he's had to spend his years waiting for me?" She quipped, tracing lazy circles on his knee. "Maybe you had to wait for me to come along, not the other way around." She said to her boyfriend. House smiled at her gently, appreciating her retaliations.

John tapped his index finger over the back of the hand it was folded over, "You don't find it disgusting that the man you are living with is a Vicodin addicted cripple?"

Fire sprung from behind Allison's eyes, "He isn't crippled." Allison seethed before she recollected herself. "Greg is a brilliant doctor. And I don't appreciate you talking about him like he isn't sitting right in front of you."

"He knows what I think of him."

"Tell me I'm wrong for loving him." Allison said darkly. "Try and tell me we aren't good for each other." She stood up, ignoring when House's fingers laced with hers. "And I'll tell you twice as many reasons why we're right for each other." House smiled at her revival of the phrase she'd used to assure him when they'd first started dating.

John stared at the fuming woman, still not ready to back down.

"Blythe, I apologise, and I mean this in the greatest respect, but I would kindly ask you both to leave." Allison said, feet still firmly planted. "I hope to be able to meet you again when your husband has learned to not bad mouth my boyfriend in front of me."

Blythe rose, pushing down her embarrassment at her husband's display, "Let's go, John." She said as she set her wine glass on the coffee table.

John rose as well and walked towards the door, only stopping to place one last biting remark. "I'm so proud to see that my son has to hide behind a woman rather than facing me himself."

"Believe me," Allison taunted, "he just had no will to embarrass his own father in front of me. You should be proud he shows you that bit of respect." She shot back as Blythe ushered her husband out the door before another fight could break out.

When the door snapped shut, Allison spun around and faced her lover. Her eyes welled with tears and she collapsed back to couch, her head falling onto House's shoulder, "I'm so sorry." She cried.

"Why?"

"I was such a bitch to your father." She whined. "You must be so mad at me now!"

House laughed, "That was the most tolerable interaction I've ever had with John." He said, wrapping his arms around her, "If I'd known you could be so ruthless, I would have introduced you to him sooner!"

Allison let out a watery laugh as she rubbed her tear filled eyes on his shoulder, "So you're not mad at me?" She asked for assurance.

House gaped at her in disbelief, "Mad!? How could I be mad!? You just told off the only person that I've never been able to!" He kissed her fiercely, "You yelling at my dad is the biggest turn on I've ever experienced."

Allison grinned at him and quickly straddled his lap, her hands wrapping behind his head as she covered his mouth with hers. House couldn't help the smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips as she kissed him, and he also couldn't prevent the automatic movement of his hands to the hem of her skirt. Allison keened as he cupped her ass from beneath her skirt, his fingers toying with the flimsy material of her panties. With a playful patting of her bottom, House licked the roof of her mouth tauntingly, making her tongue dart against his as she ground her hips against the growing erection that pressed up against her center.

Moaning against his mouth, Allison swiveled her hips in a slow circle as her fingers fell to the tail of his shirt. She lifted the clothing from his body, breaking the duel between their tongues before returning to kiss along his jawbone to his neck. House grunted and bucked up against her as she left little love bites down his throat and onto his chest. In retaliation, House reached out and grabbed her breast roughly, causing a yelp to emit from her lips. Allison moaned loudly as he squeezed her breast. Clenching her knees around his hips, Allison leaned backwards, the hands behind his neck pulling him forward until they toppled to the floor.

Impatience coursing through him, House took either side of her blouse and tore it open, sending buttons sailing across the apartment. Next, he quickly flicked open the front clasp of her bra and pushed her skirt up to her waist. Allison bit her bottom lip, her hips rotating, not even feeling anger at the demolition of her clothing. Her fingers trailed a lazy line from her throat to between her breasts before her hand fell to her side and she just lay bare and open to him.

Undoing his fly, House pushed his pants and boxers down his hips and shoved Allison's panties to the side before entering her roughly. He watched as her breasts bounced in rhythm to his thrusts, enjoying the lulling waves they created. Lowering his lips he caught a nipple between his lips and gently nipped it. Allison keened again, wrapping her legs behind his back. Raising his head, House grabbed both of her breasts with his hands and began thrusting faster. He could see her eyes squeeze shut and her jaw clench as she took in deep breaths and held them, a hiss escaping her mouth as he forced the captured breaths from her lungs with every powerful surge forward.

Allison could feel the tears coming to her eyes, too blissful to notice just how rough he was being, and too aware of how rough he was being to block out how good it felt. "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck! Harder.. Mmm Harder!" She found herself crying out. It was a paradox of sensation, and she finally realized a deeper meaning to what John Mellencamp had meant.

"Fuck, Ally!" He shouted with a harsh cry of ecstasy. Allison felt and heard House come as he shot his seed into her, sending her over the edge with him. Collapsing on top of her, they lay in a panting, sweating pile on the floor, his body a welcomed weight over her.

"Mmm." She sighed, tightening the hold she had on his neck.

"Mmm?" He questioned, nuzzling against her neck and giving it a hard bite. She squeaked and squeezed him tighter against her. "Mmm Mm Mm M?"

"Mmm Hmm." Allison was hardly containing her giggles.

"Ah." He nodded.

Finally Allison began laughing. "I'm ready to pass out." She yawned, nuzzling her face against the top of his head.

House nodded again with his own yawn before they got up and went to the bedroom, clothes disheveled.

Kane wagged her tail when Allison and House opened the bedroom door. With a groan, both pulled their clothes back on, Allison grabbing a new shirt, and put Kane on her leash for one last walk before bed. Both leaned against each other tiredly as they stood with the dog running circles around them, looking for a spot to do her business.

After letting Kane out, they trudged back up to the apartment and collapsed onto the bed at last, pulling at their clothes to loosen them, but too tired to actually undress. "Night..." Allison murmured, curling against her pillow.

"Night." House returned, flopping an arm over her waist.

-----------------------------------

Kane was barking loudly at 8:30 one morning, and Allison sat up abruptly, nearly shrieking when she saw the clock. They needed to be at work in a half hour!

Turning over, she slapped House on the back as she got out of bed and ran to the shower, turned it on and began brushing her teeth. House was slowly getting out of bed, cranky at being awoken. When he joined her in the bathroom, House almost couldn't believe that they had been living together for a little over two months. It was mid-December, Christmas was coming, and he was even more surprised that he was greatly anticipating their trip to her brother's house for Christmas.

However, as he stepped into the shower with his girlfriend, House realized that he had no clue what to get her brothers for the holiday. He didn't have time to ponder as they quickly washed themselves, taking turns under the jet of hot water to suds and rinse themselves. Before he knew it, they were running in opposite directions as Allison hooked Kane onto her leash and ran out the door, and he was limping to the kitchen to toast a bagel for her and eat a bowl of cereal. She came back up in record time, a sign that Kane had not dawdled.

As Allison grabbed her bagel and smeared a layer of cream cheese on it, House began to think about how crazy the last three weeks had been. They'd both been hurrying around lately, neither stopping to take a breath except when they had finished eating dinner and took their time before bed to curl up together and watch the shows they'd TiVoed.

Today, they were returning to a patient who was had broken out in a horrible rash and was experiencing hallucinations. Thus far, they had yet to identify the irritant that had caused the rash, and were still trying to bring the patient out of the illusions.

As they drove to PPTH, House glanced over at Allison. "You okay?" He asked as he saw her rubbing her stomach.

She nodded, "Yeah, I just ate that bagel too fast." Allison circled her palm over her stomach. "Do you have any Tums?" She asked, but groaned when he shook his head no.

As they pulled into a parking spot, House and Allison went through the waiting room, glancing around at the few patients already there. "I'm going to start on my clinic hours for today, call me if you need me?" Allison asked as she slowly drifted from his side. House nodded, "Okay, love you." She waved.

"Love you too." He called, and turned.

Both froze for a moment, turned and looked at each other. Had they just committed the sin of public verbal display of affection? Sure, they knew they loved each other, but they just simultaneously realized they had never said in front of other people before. With an awkward laugh, they turned around again and headed off to their original plans.

Allison went to the clinic, still rubbing her aching stomach and cursing the cream cheese that had probably been expired. She knew House was horrible about cleaning out the fridge, leaving leftover Chinese in there until it was molding and stinking up the entire apartment.

"C'est la vie." She sighed, accepting that her boyfriend would never be the type to worry over moldy food. Still she went to hunt down a bottle of Tums before she threw up all over the lobby floor.

-------------------

House was sitting at his desk as Chase and Foreman sat waiting for the test results to come back on the skin scrapings. Currently they were looking for a chemical agitant or toxic secretion, but the results wouldn't be in for another two to three hours. Their patient was stable at the moment, so now all they could do was rack their brains for any possibilities if the results came back empty handed.

As he sat at his desk playing his gameboy, House began to consider what to get Allison's brothers for Christmas. He thought about it for a while, but still was drawing a blank. If only he knew what would be appropriate... Maybe he'd just let Ally buy the presents and put his name on them along side hers. He sighed, feeling like he was taking the easy way out.

A knock came at the door to his office and House looked up. He was startled when he saw who it was and immediately gestured for them to enter, "Hi, Mom." He stood up and met her half way through his office and hugged her. "Sorry about Thanksgiving. Where's John?" He asked.

"I came up by myself." Blythe replied, sitting on the couch. "Where's Allison?" She asked, setting her purse on the floor by the couch.

"Clinic duty. What brings you by?" He asked, sitting beside her.

Blythe looked at her hands, "I'm sorry about what happened on Thanksgiving." She smiled sadly. "I hope that Allison didn't take what he said personally."

House shook his head, "No, she was just upset with what he was saying about me. She's kind of defensive of me." Blythe smiled, she could tell that of her son's girlfriend almost instantly when she met her. "She felt bad when you both left. She thought she put on a bad first impression."

It was Blythe's turn to shake her head, "No, actually, your father was quite impressed with her."

With a nod, House kept the little smile building on his lips to himself, "So what are you up here for?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing really." Blythe grabbed her purse and stood. "I just needed to apologise in person is all." She planted a kiss on her son's cheek and walked towards the door. House's brow furrowed, wondering what that had been about. No one drives in from Pennsylvania to deliver an apology that can be just as easily mailed or phoned in. Not that he even needed the apology, unless it were from his father. With another annoyed sigh, House rubbed his head and went back to his desk to continue waiting for the test results.

---------------

Allison rubbed her head, the dull throbbing was not helping her already nauseous state. She just wanted to take a nap. The rushing around of the morning and the little sleep she had gotten as she'd tossed and turned most of the night was killing her. Promising herself that she'd go fall asleep on House's sofa after this last patient, Allison entered the exam room.

"Hello, my name is Dr. Allison Cameron," she entered reading the chart, "what seems to be the problem? You say you're not feeling right? Care to elaborate?" She glanced up and saw a man holding his stomach. "Nausea, cramping?" She asked.

Allison sighed when she'd finally determined, after almost a half hour of the man doubling over, that he was constipated. She rolled her eyes. If you haven't had a bowel movement in almost a week, wouldn't you think that you might be constipated?

With a groan, Allison made her way to the elevator and into diagnostics. Trudging into House's office, she flopped onto the couch heavily.

"What's wrong with you?" House asked, not looking up from his video game.

"I'm exhausted." Allison complained, burrowing her face into the cushion.

House looked at the clock. "It's not even noon yet."

Allison glared up from the sofa, "Some of us have been working this morning, not sitting around playing games." She snapped.

House snapped his GBA shut and went over to the couch, plopping her legs onto his lap. Allison turned onto her back and glared at him. "You're going to be the death of me." He said, pulling off her shoes and rubbing her feet.

"Uh huh." Allison closed her eyes and relaxed as he gave her a foot massage.

"Did you get your brothers Christmas gifts yet?"

"Mmm hmm." She yawned.

"Take a nap." He said. "We've got another two hours before those tests come back."

Allison nodded and dozed off as he continued the massage.

She just needed to relax.

The last week had been so crazy that she knew if she just stopped stressing she would feel fine. With a yawn she fell into a deep sleep.

TBC

A/N- YAY! I broke 200 reviews! Me so HAPPY:D-Andi 


	22. Chapter 22

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Twenty-two: Smack

Allison woke up on House's couch and arched her head to find him at his computer with earphones on. Standing up to further her investigation, she found him watching video clips of "Scrubs" on Youtube. She couldn't help laughing. House craned his neck up to look at her.

"What?" He asked, pulling the headphones off.

Allison shook her head. "Nothing. Are the labs back?" She asked, stretching and feeling grateful that her stomach had finally settled down.

"Yeah, the scrapings came back clean. They could have been caused by a number of irritants. Chase and Foreman are delving further into the cause for the hallucinations." He rubbed his eyes. "All we have is a rash and a guy who's crazy in the head. Neither of which can be linked together. For all we know he's schizophrenic and is allergic to nickel." He groaned, leaning his head back against Allison's hip. Allison raked her fingers through House's hair.

"MRI?"

House snorted, "We can't get him to lie still long enough for one. It took three people to hold him down to take a skin scraping on his rash. And we can't sedate him if we don't know what he has."

Allison leaned heavily against the desk, "Does he have any family to give us an idea of his resent behaviors?"

"No."

Foreman burst into the office, "We have a problem."

House stood up quickly, hoping to finally get an enlightenment on the patient. A new symptom would be greatly appreciated to shed some light.

"What is it?" Allison asked.

"We screwed up." Chase came in behind Foreman, "We were missing a lot of symptoms."

House crossed his arms, "And how did we do that?"

"When his neighbor brought him in last night, he didn't tell us that the guy's been vomiting relentlessly." Foreman explained, cutting Chase off.

"And how did we figure this out?" House asked calmly.

Chase and Foreman looked at each other, "Well, he's malnourished. We knew that already, so Foreman went to his apartment to look and see if there were any clues as to why he wasn't eating-" "Nothing. But the place was a mess, but it didn't look like it had always been like that. It seemed more like..." Foreman shrugged, "Successful stock broker turned bum over night. And it looks like he's been living off of whatever was already in the apartment. "

"So he talked to the neighbor who dropped him off." Chase picked up. "Neighbor says he hadn't seen the guy in almost a month."

"Goes over to check on him."

"And he's dry heaving." Chase was glaring at Foreman for interrupting him.

House hushed them, "If one of you would get to a point and stop trying to see who can get the extra credit points at the end of class?"

"He's immobile." They said in unison.

"Get him an MRI _now_." House said in cold whisper.

"Already on his way." Foreman nodded, "Cuddy just cleared it."

"Then go observe it. Tell me what you find." House waved them off, but before they could turn he added, "And bring Wilson with you."

Both turned solemnly out of the office.

"Thinking the worst?" Allison asked quietly.

"Do you want me to tell you that it's probably just a bad migraine that he's had for a month now?" House flopped into his chair.

Allison bowed her head, "He's only twenty-three."

House turned and looked at her, "Okay, going by his age and the fact that every human body is perfect; he only has a really bad stomach flu and a migraine that's paralyzed him."

Crossing her arms over her chest, Allison watched him turn back to his computer. She wanted to tell him he was an asshole, but she knew that wouldn't faze him. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, but she knew he probably wasn't. She wanted him to say something humane, but she knew he wouldn't.

Turning around, Allison left the office and went into the main room of the department. Maybe she had been disillusioned by living with him. Or had seen the human side of him, realizing that he really wasn't the bastard he'd made himself out to be. Going away with him and seeing how he'd interacted with her family and just living with him had completely changed her perspective on how impartial he was at work. He didn't feel for the patients like she did, and he didn't look at the silver lining like she wanted him to. Taking a deep breath, Allison realized that the doctor she'd fallen in love with was not the same man she went home with and loved.

Jekyll and Hyde.

Allison wondered if she had the same duality that House did. The Yin for his Yang as it were. It was difficult to decide.

Allison let her head smack the top of the table. Something was off.

Really off.

And it had been off for a while. Sitting up strait, Allison thought about it. What had changed so dramatically, that she now found the doctor in House so intolerable?

Then it struck her.

Allison got up and went into House's office.

"Now what?" House asked, watching her go over to his couch, sit down and turn on the Tv. Curious, he stood up and went over, smirking when she flipped to a channel, and he heard a familiar voice. "Wow." He sat down and put his arm over her shoulder, "General Hospital."

------------

Wilson came into House's office, finding him and Allison sitting on the couch watching Tv. With a sigh, the oncologist sat down next to his friend, leaned back and said, "Brain cancer. He only has another couple weeks."

House nodded, "Durrito?" He tipped a bag Wilson's way. The doctor took a handful from the bag.

"You already figured it out." Wilson bit into the chip.

"Yeah." Allison sighed, snaking her hand into a bag.

Wilson nodded, "Well, I've got patients to see." He got up and left.

Allison looked at the clock, "Wanna go get lunch?" She asked, standing up. House shrugged and got up as well, walking with her to the elevator. The two rode down the elevator, leaning against each other in comfortable silence.

"What are we doing tonight?" House asked as the elevator dinged and they made their way to the cafeteria.

"We need to go grocery shopping after work, and then I'll make dinner. Then," she began as she went to the line, "we can curl up and you can read that book to me."

House's brow furrowed. "What book?"

Allison shrugged, "I can't remember what it's called... You talked about it the other day..." She shrugged again, unable to come up with a name. "It's on your bookshelf, I'll show it to you when we get back to the apartment. It's really thick though."

"Is it a medical text book?" He asked, grabbing a sandwich.

"No."

"Then it's The Fountainhead. That's the only thick book I have that's not a medical book." He smirked.

Allison grabbed a salad. "Does it have a happy ending?" She asked.

House thought for a moment, "Yeah."

They paid for their lunch and sat down. "You seemed unsure." She pointed out.

House shrugged, unwrapping the plastic wrap from his sandwich. "It's a perspective thing."

Allison nodded, popping the plastic lid off of the salad. "Greg..." She said as she took a forkful of salad.

"What?" He asked around a mouthful of sandwich.

"Am I a different person when we leave work?" She asked, not eating the bite, just looking at him over the leafy greens.

House tilted his head as he contemplated her question, "How do you mean?" He asked, not wanting to step into an answer blind.

Allison shrugged, "Just... Do I seem different when I'm at home with you than I do when I'm at work with you?"

House smirked, "Yes."

Allison put the fork down and sat up strait, full attention on her face, as she asked excitedly, "How so?"

Recoiling at her sudden intensity towards the subject, House set down his sandwich as he recovered, "Well..." He thought about it for a second, "You're more sure of yourself at home. You have no problem questioning me, and you do your own thing. When you're here, you seem like you need me to hold your hand the whole time." He explained.

Allison slumped into her chair. Did she come across that way to patients?

"If you could bring a little bit of how you are at home here, I think you could be a better doctor." He finished.

Still slumping in her chair, Allison realized something yet again that day. "I think you should take your own advice then." She said before she noticed that she was speaking.

House leaned into the back of his chair, crossed his arms over his chest and let a smirk play across the left corner of his lips, "Really?"

"You could be just as passionate as you are at home, and less self-involved when it comes to patients."

"Hmm, Ally, I don't think the patients or you would appreciate me doing some of the passionate things I do to you at home to them." He pointed out, "But if our next patient is a real hot momma, I'll consider it."

Allison flushed, "That's not what I meant and you know it." But she was fighting back a smile anyway, "I mean, you could be less impartial to our patients."

The smirk faded from House's lips, "Ally, the way I do things helps me do a better job. I don't make nearly as many stupid mistakes when I'm impartial."

Tilting her head to the side, Allison thought about it for a moment. She had known his emotional detachments made it easy for him to look at just the symptoms and passed the bullshit the patients gave him, but she still had trouble looking passed people and their problems. With a sigh, she nodded, accepting his response.

As they finished their lunches, Allison and House went back up to the department, hoping that their next case would have a better outcome. When they arrived back in diagnostics, they found Foreman and Chase lounging, solemn expressions in place.

"What's eating you?" House flopped into another chair.

Chase responded first, "We fucked up."

"Hm." House tilted his head upward thoughtfully, "Chase? Foreman? Do either of you own an MRI that you can flail around in and still get an accurate reading?"

The two doctors looked at each other, confused at the question, "No." They said together.

"Uh huh, and do either of you know the appropriate sedative and dosage to give a flailing patient who has unexplained mental conditions that could easily interact with unexplained mental conditions?" House questioned further.

"No." Once again together.

"Uh huh. And finally, do either of you have a cure for advanced brain cancer?" Shaking of the heads followed, "Then you didn't fuck up." House stood up and walked towards his office. "You pass class with a B+ today." And he closed the door behind him.

Allison watched him walk out and a small smile played across her lips.

"What's with him today?" Foreman asked Allison, noting her smile.

She turned, smirked a little and said, "He's taking my advice."

With that she followed House into his office.

"Do you ever just flat out resent these glass walls?" House asked as Allison leaned in front of him against his desk.

Allison shrugged, "No, why?"

Placing his hands on her hips, House ran his fingers across her ass. "Well, I find it to be quite a dilemma when you come in here because if I draw the blinds, you know our little lab rats will just _know_ we're having sex-"

"When I could just simply be going down on you, right?"

"_Exactly_. And then everything gets blown out of proportion!" Pulling her hips off of the desk, he let his hands trail down the backs of her thighs before tilting inwards.

"And then all you can get away with is groping me, and _that's_ not fair." She pouted, leaning back against the desk and capturing his hands between her thighs.

"Definitely not fair." He agreed. "And if I pull you into my lap," he pulled her harshly against him until her knees hit his and she bent them to straddle his lap, "all I can do is grind up against you." He bucked his hips, sending a shiver shooting up from her sex.

"Ooh, and then," she moaned and took in a sharp breath, "you'll need to change your pants... ooh... And I'm stuck with more laundry."

"Which cuts into us having sex on our own time." He agreed.

Allison dropped her head against his shoulder as she rolled her hips against his erection. "Wanna, ah... Find a cl-closet?" She asked, gasping when he bucked upwards again.

Nipping her earlobe, House nodded and the two got up. House was grateful that he always wore long button down shirts as he stood and his erection pressed noticeably against the restraints of his jeans. Buttoning the last three, he covered the bulge and the two walked out of the office. Barely remembering to break hands before they hit the hall. He was now grateful for his limp because it hid the awkward limp he'd have anyway with such a painful hard on distorting his motion.

"Wanna go to the roof?" Allison asked quietly as they quickly walked towards the elevator.

House nodded, knowing that no one went up there. He hit the call button with his cane and the two waited impatiently.

When they hit the roof, House pushed the door open and went through, pinning Allison against the door when she followed him, effectively sealing the door with their combined weight.

Allison leaned heavily against the door as House quickly pulled her pants down and stood up to lower his. Biting her lip in anticipation, Allison whimpered when his hands dove beneath her shirt, pulling it and her bra above her breasts. Her left leg rose over his hip and she felt him press against her, pausing only momentarily before he thrust into her. Using her leg to propel him, Allison hurried his movements as she pulled the back of his shirt upwards. Her fingers ran over the exposed flesh of his back as he slowly pressed into her. Neck arching in pleasure, her nails raked up his back, making him his in a reaction not from pain. The sharp intake of breath through his teeth made Allison roll her hips against his as he thrust harder up against her.

Raising her leg higher, House tilted her hips forward as he leaned more of his weight against her body. Shoulders pinning each other's, Allison moaned at the new angle of their motions. "Greg, ah..." She clenched her eyes shut as her hands traveled to the back of his head, holding his mouth to her throat. "Mm... Please." He bit her neck as his left hand gripped her breast roughly. "Ah!" She flinched at the harsh pressure on her breast, making him loosen his hold.

As his thrusts became less rhythmic, Allison bit her lip in anticipation. She loved when he came inside her, filling her as they went over the edge together. She moaned loudly as she climaxed, feeling him throb inside her as he panted and bucked against her.

Leaning heavily against her body, House let her leg fall back to the ground as their breaths mingled together in the cold December air.

He was grateful it hadn't snowed yet, but the cold air was horrible against his wet cock. Bending over, House pulled his pants back up and grabbed Allison's as well. She put them back on, working her shoes through the pant legs. She wondered for a moment, how he had managed to get them off so easily over her shoes.

Pulling her shirt and bra back down over her chest, Allison looked at her boyfriend and smiled lazily as they both leaned against the door, looking sated for the moment.

"I just added something to our list of things we're doing tonight." Allison smirked cryptically at him.

"Oh?" House covered her lips with his in a quick kiss.

"Yeah, but you can find out later." She took the door handle of the roof's entry in her hand and gave it a quick pull, nudging House gently with it. "Come on, Babes."

Grabbing his cane, House followed her back to the stairs, anticipating his lover's plans for the evening.

"Right behind you, _Babes_."

TBC

A/N- Just a little note in the life of Andi----- My brother just got married Saturday 7-7-07:D Amazingly enough, to a girl not only I approve of but my ENTIRE family, parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins alike. EVERYBODY loves this girl and we're happy to have her as a part of our family. So, Congratulations to them, and a happy life together!Love, Andi :D

P.S- Sorry this took a while to get out, but hey! Wedding, very busy!!!! -Andi.


	23. Chapter 23

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: omitted

Chapter Twenty-Three: Laugh

Returning from their tryst atop the hospital, both grinned at each other before they entered the door to diagnostics. "So," House began as they walked in, "who has clinics left to do this week?" He sat down and leaned back into his chair.

"You." All three said simultaneously.

House waved his hand at them and said sarcastically, "We already know _that_. I'm talking about between the three people who do get them done."

Foreman rubbed his head, "Are you telling me you want us to do your hours today?"

"Nonsense!" House pulled his Vicodin out of his pocket. He'd pushed his leg trying to keep up strait on the roof. Standing positions took their toll, but the sated look on Allison's face and the slight flush that was gathered around her chest, creeping ever so slightly up her neck was _well worth it_.

Popping the pill into his mouth, House looked around with a bored expression on his face, "We need to start getting more patients. I'm getting bored."

"Hmm," Allison leaned over his shoulder and said into his ear ever so softly, "do you wanna go to the clinic with me? If we clear the lobby maybe we can have sex in one of the exam rooms." She purred huskily into his ear.

"I'm going to the clinic." House declared, standing up quickly. Allison grinned and followed him out the door.

Chase looked at Foreman, "Do they think they're being discrete?" Chase asked.

Foreman shrugged, "The better question would be; do you think they care either way?"

------

Cuddy had to do a double take as she did her usual after lunch walk through of the clinic. There were very few patients in the waiting room, and when she checked the sheet to see what doctors had signed in, she found that both Dr. House and Dr. Cameron were currently working. Eyes narrowing, she looked at what rooms they were _supposedly_ in. Going to Cameron's checkout room, she wasn't surprised to see the female doctor was actually with a patient. Suspicious now of House, she went to the next room.

"Pick your jaw up off the floor, Cuddy." House muttered as he looked through an otoscope that was currently probing a teenage boy's ear. He glanced back to see Cuddy clamp her mouth shut, smirked and then turned to his patient, "No, you do _not_ have an ear infection, though I do recommend that you get them cleaned. I'm going to need acid to get all this wax off." He looked at the otoscope with disgust and set it down on the table.

"Then why am I having trouble hearing?" The teen asked a little loudly.

House crossed his arms over his chest, "It could be from the concert you went to the other night." The teen's brow furrowed, trying to figure out how House had guessed that. "I don't want you to hurt yourself trying to figure it out. You still have the stamp on your hand when you got your admission." He wrote something on the chart. "Try wearing ear plugs."

The teen watched House leave with Cuddy and grumbled.

"Well?"

"Well what?" House watched Cuddy put her hands on her hips.

"For what crazy reason did you come down to the clinic?" Cuddy clarified.

"Bribery."

"What?" Cuddy's brow furrowed.

Deciding not to tell Cuddy that he and Allison had been stealing away to supply closets for the last hour and a half between patients, he came up with something else. "I am to be rewarded with mind-blowing sex tonight if I can get that waiting room cleared at least once."

Gawking slightly, Cuddy shook her head. Despite the primitive method used to get House to actually do his job, at least Allison managed to get House to do his _job_!

"And it looks like we only need to clear three more patients." He grinned lazily to himself, "Yay, sex!" He cheered in mockery to his boss.

Cuddy grunted and walked away from the other doctor, but had a small smile to herself as she made it to the elevator.

Allison came out of the room she was working and saw House standing a few doors down. "What's up?" She asked, fighting back the urge to curl her arms around his waist.

"Cuddy."

"Yeah, she came into my room too." She rolled her eyes.

"Three more to go." He pointed.

"Awesome."

"Let's get this over with quick." He gave her lips a quick peck, much to her surprise. "Love you." House limped away to grab the next chart.

Allison felt her face flush. These little PDA moments were making her feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Just the "love you" made her heart jump, and the little kiss on her lips made her body feel as if it was turning to liquid. It was comforting to know that he didn't care if people saw their affection towards each other. The rarity of his emotions at work were suddenly becoming less on the rare side and more on the side of normal. It was exciting, it was monumental, and it was definitely reassuring.

Humming to herself, Allison grabbed her next chart and went to see her patient. One more and they could sneak away for a lot more than a few stolen kisses without making her feel guilty.

In hardly any time, Allison and House ran into each other in the hallway once again. Leering at one another, they held out their fists. "Loser takes the last patient." House made the conditions.

"Deal." Allison raised her fist, "Rock, paper, scissors! YES!"

"Damn it." House grabbed the last chart and sulked to the final room.

Allison leaned against the wall beside the door House had just disappeared behind. She smiled lazily as she waited, her expectations for yet another encounter with her boyfriend sending waves of heat through her body.

Absentmindedly, Allison rubbed her right breast. It was killing her from when House had given it a rough squeeze up on the roof. With a sigh, she let her head lean back against the wall to wait.

----------------

Allison sighed as House dropped a couple of bags of potato chips into the cart. Seriously, it did feel like she was grocery shopping with a five year old. All he wanted to buy was junk food, however, he did occasionally surprise her with something somewhat healthy.

Wrapping an arm around Allison's waist as they walked down the aisle, House eyed the goodies he passed by.

"So," House began, letting his fingers tap against her side, "what plans do you have for me when we get home?" He asked with a smirk.

Allison looked up for a moment as if she were thinking, "I guess you'll have to wait and see."

"Ah, so it's a surprise." He pulled her between his arms so that she was trapped between his body and the shopping cart. Allison walked backwards, her back pressing against the handlebar of the cart. House nuzzled his mouth against her throat, making Allison giggle. "I like surprises."

"No, you like guessing what the surprise is." Allison pointed out, still enjoying the feeling he gave her when his mouth kissed and nipped her neck.

House leaned his chin on Allison's shoulder and sighed, "You know me so well." He said sarcastically. Turning in his arms, Allison put her hands on the bar and leaned over the cart. House's eyes shut softly when she rubbed her hips against his. "All too well."

Allison laughed before ducking under his arms and walking beside him again. House smiled at her as they made their way down another aisle. It didn't feel as strange grocery shopping anymore. Yet another ritual of theirs, just like their early morning routine. There seemed to be something new everyday that became a part of their lives and never left. The anticipation he felt towards seeing her brothers and their loved ones again had him realizing that spending the holidays with her family would become another ritual of theirs.

And with that thought, House realized as they passed by the canned soup, that he was mentally using pronouns that linked himself and Allison rather than using singles. It wasn't 'I', 'me', 'my'. Suddenly he was referring to 'us', 'we', and 'our'. Shaking his head with the sudden insight, House smirked as he watched Allison pick up two cans of soup and read their labels. She had a thing about sodium. She avoided it like the plague whenever possible.

Allison glanced over at House and gave him a cheesy smile. She didn't know why but when she caught him looking at her she couldn't help but smile.

-------------------

Allison dropped the groceries on the counter and went to work unloading them while House went to go get Kane. By the time he'd rangled the excited mutt, Allison had all the groceries put away and they left the apartment, a tethered Kane with them.

"She wants to run." House whispered as they made their circuit around the park.

Allison cocked her head to the side as if she were thinking. With a grin she bent over and tightened the laces on her shoes. House watched her do this and wondered what she was up to. "Kane!" The dog looked at Allison curiously. The woman dropped the leash and gave the mutt's back a quick pat. "You're it!" She yelled and took off running.

Kane barked excitedly and gave chase to her master. House watched in amusement as the dog chased Allison all over the park. He was slightly envious that she could outrun the dog, not by much, but enough to keep the mutt interested. A bit of laughter ran through him as he realized that even if he didn't have a bum leg, he probably couldn't have kept up with her anyway.

Suddenly Allison stopped running and just stood still. House laughed when Kane ran into her, but Allison didn't seemed fazed.

Making his way to the woman's side, House realized why she'd stopped running.

"Look." She said in awe as she pointed up at the sky, "It's snowing."

House was taken by surprise once again by this woman. As long as she'd lived here, and as many snow storms she'd seen, she still stopped in complete wonder at the first snow of the year.

Grabbing Kane's leash, House wrapped his arms around Allison's waist. "You never cease to amaze me."

"As I recall, you said I was predictable." Allison pointed out.

"Don't get me wrong. You are predictable. That's why I'm so amazed." He grinned at her. Allison pouted. "Aw, don't pout. It makes your face elongate." He teased. Allison pouted more. "Your lip's going to fall off if you keep it up." He warned her. Her eyes went round and her bottom lip jutted out even more. House gnashed his teeth and caught her protruding lip with them. "Gotcha." He said with her lip between his teeth.

Allison pulled her head back slightly, making her lip stretch. "Tha's'not noice." She grumbled.

House laughed and let go of her lip and kissed her instead. "Do you think the beast is ready to go home?" He asked, hoping that he could get Allison beneath the covers in record time tonight.

Allison smiled slightly. She didn't want him to take it the wrong way, but she was exhausted. Not too mention, she was regretting the comment she'd made earlier about having a surprise for him because right now she just wanted to curl up in bed and fall asleep until she had no choice but to get up for work.

With a nod and expression that could even fool House, Allison took his hand and they walked back to the apartment.

It was only when House closed the door behind himself and unhooked Kane's leash that he realized something about the apartment was different. Something he hadn't noticed that morning, but could definitely be observed now.

"Oh no, you cleaned again, didn't you?" He accused with a grandios flailing of his cane.

Allison laughed as she took off her coat and hung it in the closet, "Yes, your sheet music was everywhere, Greg."

"You're the bane of a musician's expressive disorderlyness."

With a giant yawn, Allison leaned against the counter and leered at him, "Really? I thought I was your alien sex slave."

Smirking, House limped over to her, "That too." He complied, leaning against her from behind and wrapping his arms around her. "You look tired." He pouted, resting his head on her back.

Allison bit her lip, she really was, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"I think," House began, turning her in his arms, "that maybe we should call it a night, and you can come up with something extra, extra, special for me tomorrow. After all, I'd hate for you to ruin the surprise you had for me by falling asleep in the middle of it." He winked at her playfully.

Allison smiled gratefully, tilting her head to give him a kiss. She didn't know why the fatigue had just hit her. One minute she was running with Kane and the moment she stopped to look at the falling snow, she just became overwhelmingly tired.

"All right, bed time." He planted a kiss on her neck and lead the way to the bedroom.

"Love you." Allison said as she curled up in bed.

"Love you too." House molded up behind her, planting a kiss close to her ear before wrapping his arms around her and falling asleep.

--------------

Allison woke up early that morning, surprising herself by beating the alarm clock. With a smile, Allison crawled under the blankets until she was even with her boyfriend's waist. She grinned and straddled his waist, sliding up the length of his body, letting her weight settle on him before giving him a hard kiss on the mouth.

House's eyes snapped open, but hooded over slightly as he let her tongue slide into his mouth. His arms snaked around her waist as he kissed her back slowly. Wishing she'd wake him up like this more often, House pulled his mouth from hers and kissed down her neck. "Good morning." He muttered against her throat. Allison grinned and rolled her hips against his. "Do I get my surprise now?" He asked.

Allison nodded and slid down his body once more, taking the blankets with her. House lifted his hips as she pulled his pajama pants down just enough to uncover his already hardening member. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she dipped down to kiss his stomach. The small whine that came from House's mouth was enough to keep her there, licking and nipping his belly a moment longer before trailing down further.

"Ah, Ally." House arched his neck slightly as she took hold of his cock firmly. She had a grip and he loved it. Her hand would squeeze him tight and the way she moved her wrist was so slow and languid that he thought he was going to die from the pained pleasure of it. "Fu-" He choked on his own profanity as she ran her thumb over the slit, making his teeth clench and the word die in his throat.

A bit of laughter rattled in Allison's chest as she turned her hand, making a twisting motion with her movement. His hips bucked upward and Allison laughed again, placing her lips around the head of his shaft. House's eyes squeezed shut as she suckled for a moment before letting his cock sink deeper into the hot recesses of her mouth. He tried not to thrust his hips, but it made his thighs shake with the restraint.

Allison put her hands on his hips, effectively pinning them to the bed as she lowered her mouth further onto him, nearly taking the entire length into her mouth. House groaned at the feeling, his leg jerking slightly.

"Fuck, Ally." He moaned, unsure how much longer he could hold off. "I'm going to cum."

Allison nodded, the bobbing of her head making him moan again. She sped up the motion, gripping him again and moving her hand and mouth in time with each other.

As he came, Allison took him in completely once more as she swallowed down his spendings. She kept pumping his cock as it throbbed and pulsed in her hand and House panted beneath her, his arms spread wide.

"Good morning." Allison smirked at him.

"Speck-fucking-tacular morning." He corrected, eyes still shut.

Allison crawled back up his body, lying beside him on the bed. As she glanced at the clock she heard the alarm go off.

"I think you were more effective than that beeping horror." He smacked the off button.

"Mm." Allison agreed, kissing his neck. "You can pay me back at work today."

"Uh huh, someone's getting to be quite naughty with work sex." House told her.

Allison stretched slightly in the arms he'd wrapped around her, "Well, what do they expect me to do when we don't have any patients?" She asked with a pout.

"Work in the clinic."

"Psh."

House laughed, "I have apparently re-calibrated my moral compass."

Allison got out of bed, "Are you showering with me?"

Getting up, House rubbed his eyes, stood up, pulled his pants back up and followed her into the bathroom. "Just don't molest me in the shower."

Allison put her hands on her hips and leered at him. "I figure if I get us through the morning necessities, I can molest you in the kitchen somewhere between breakfast and the newspaper."

House calculated the amount of time between now and then. "Really? I was thinking sometime between showering and dressing. I figured we could screw in the doorway."

Allison turned on the shower and began stripping. "I didn't think you'd be ready by then." She taunted.

"Or maybe," he began, stepping into the shower with her, "I can keep you waiting."

Allison pouted, "Not fair." She whined, stepping under the water.

"All's fair in love and challenging my refractory period."

TBC

A/N- Hey, another long wait, sorry, but school's kicking my ass. I'm going to try and get another chapter out to you a little quicker this next time around, but don't hold me to it! I'm a busy li'l bever!-Andi


	24. Chapter 24

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Twenty-four: See You Soon...

Allison was smiling to herself as she and House drove to work. After a long apology in the shower, involving a lot of giggling pleads, she'd efficiently gotten House to make love to her on the floor at the foot of the bed before breakfast.

"I see that smile." House said as he pulled into the hospital parking lot.

Allison flashed her teeth at him in a big faux grin, "Glad to see you aren't going blind." She got out of the car and went towards the hospital doors. He caught up with her a few feet from the door, wrapping an arm around her. "Greg." She said in a warning tone.

"Don't tell me you're still afraid of Cuddy." He teased, pulling her tightly to him. "Let me see your watch." He grabbed her wrist and read the time, "I need to go see Wilson." He grunted, planting a kiss on her cheek before heading one way as she went to seek out prospective patients.

House leaned against the wall of the elevator, riding it up to the floor he shared with Dr. Wilson. He wasn't surprised to find the doctor waiting for him as the doors slid open, "Good morning, Jimmy, what can I do for you today?" He asked.

"You got my voicemail."

"Yeah. Now what's up?"

"Greg-"

"Woah! Did you just call me Greg? I'm afraid to know what you're about to tell me." He laughed.

Wilson stepped into the the elevator, the doors shutting behind him. He let the elevator descend a little before he pulled the emergency stop button.

House's head whipped to the side to look at his friend. "I've told you nothing." Wilson began, taking a deep breath. "You didn't hear it from me, you haven't spoken to me-"

"Spit it out, Wilson." House nearly shouted. Something bad happened, something doctor/patient confidentiality bad.

"Greg." Wilson gulped.

"DAMN IT, WILSON!"

"Cuddy's dragging you to Chicago tomorrow to have you give a lecture!" Wilson said in a rush.

House's face turned white.

Then it turned gray.

For a moment Wilson wondered if his friend would turn blue next, and if that meant he would have to do mouth to mouth.

"House?"

"Uh."

"House?"

"Ghu."

"House?"

"SHE CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" House screamed in a whining voice.

Wilson put his hand on his friend's back and patted it reassuringly.

"What the hell does she want me to talk about to these people? Why didn't she tell me so I could at least pretend to prepare for it? WHY ME!?"

With a sigh, Wilson took his hand back, "Probably because she knew if she gave you a heads up you would have found a way out of going."

"You're damn right I would have!" House nearly shouted as he released emergency stop, letting the elevator descend once more.

"So what are you going to do?" Wilson asked.

"Duh." House looked at his friend in annoyance, "Piss her off enough that she won't want me to go!" He thought for a moment, "When's she telling me?"

"She'll be on your floor in a few minutes."

"That _bitch_." House grumbled, "Trying to trick me in my delirious morning phase." His eyes narrowed.

Wilson pressed the diagnostics floor number. "Off to the gallows with you." He thrust his friend out of the lift when the doors sprung open.

House solemnly made his way to his office, awaiting his impending doom.

He didn't have to wait long, no sooner had he turned on his Gameboy, Cuddy was in his office.

"Good morning, House." Cuddy said pleasantly.

Let the fight to the death begin.

House snapped his GBA shut, "What are you lubing me up for now, Cuddy?" House's eyes narrowed.

Cuddy snapped her mouth shut. He was on his game this morning. She'd figured Allison would have worn him out the night before. After all he'd said... Damn it... She was hoping he'd be his usual morning self.

"I need you to do something for me."

House crossed his arms over his chest, "And I need you to do something for me."

Cuddy's eyes narrowed. He'd been tipped off.

"I need you to go to Chicago for a lecture."

"And I need you to tell Allison that a little PDA isn't going to get her fired." He challenged. After all, he had to win something out of this. Either get out of the lecture or at least get Allison loosened up at work in front of people. She was finally relaxing around Chase and Foreman after almost a month, but the rest of the hospital had her peering around corners for Cuddy whenever he gave her a peck on the cheek. Yesterday he'd managed to get her to sneak away on _break_, but the most he'd get during the rest of the day were a few stolen kisses in dark closets between patients.

That just didn't work for him.

"You are by far the most immature doctor I've ever worked with." Cuddy told him firmly.

"And you are probably the only doctor with an entire wardrobe of low-cut tops." House retaliated.

Cuddy crossed her arms, "...So... If I talk to Allison you'll go?"

House lulled his head back, "How long?"

"Lecture's on Thursday. So you have today and tomorrow to write it. Present it the next day and we'll be back on Friday." Cuddy told him.,p> House nodded his head in agreement. "I better go tell Ally I'm leaving tomorrow." He grunted, getting up.

------------

He was sulking.

Allison knew he was sulking.

Why he was sulking, she was not sure, but sulk he did.

"What are you sulking about?" Allison asked over her newspaper. Chase and Foreman looked up from what they were doing to observe yet another House and Cameron moment. It was becoming their at work entertainment. Whether the two be arguing, joking, or groping, it was always fun to watch.

"Cuddy's making me give a lecture day after tomorrow." House flopped into his chair, red mug already filled with coffee.

Allison folded up the newspaper as she rolled her eyes and said, "Aw, poor baby."

"It's in Chicago."

Head whipping to look over at her boyfriend, "What?"

She was already pouting, and it made House's bad mood dissipate. He smiled gently, "I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll be back on Friday." He mentally begged that she didn't do the lip quiver, but of course she did. "Ally." He sighed, "Come on." He grabbed his coffee and limped towards his office. Allison followed him, sulking now herself.

"Now what?" Foreman rubbed his head.

Chase pointed his eyes heavenward, grateful that he'd finally realized something before Foreman, "It's going to be their first time apart since they moved in together." Chase told him.

Foreman looked at his co-worker, disbelief written on his face. "Right, well." He stood up and left.

-----------

Allison curled up with House on the couch, burrowing her face against his chest.

"I don't want you to go." She pouted.

"It's three days, Ally, I'm sure you'll survive." House murmured, the low rumble of his chest comforting her. "I'll call you when I get there."

"What time do you leave tomorrow?" Allison asked, nudging her head against his chest, her arms curling around his body.

"Around one in the afternoon." He told her.

Allison thought for a moment. "If we don't get a patient by one, we're leaving."

House looked at her curiously.

"And I'm making love to you and cooking you an amazing dinner/lunch combo." She looked up to him, grinning.

House planted a kiss on her lips, "Sounds like a plan to me." He grinned. "And maybe you can help me figure out what to say to these people."

"I have no clue."

"That makes two of us then." He sighed, leaning into the back of the couch.

"Why didn't Cuddy tell you sooner so you could better prepare?" Allison asked.

"So I couldn't come up with a reason to not go." He grunted, the tinge of annoyance apparent in his voice.

"Ooh, smart move, because I would have helped you." She smirked, nuzzling closer against him.

House nodded, resting his chin on top of her head. He wanted nothing more than to stay like this all day, but he saw Cuddy coming into the main room of the department.

Lisa Cuddy entered House's office and bit her tongue from saying something about their position. She knew if she made a comment that she'd regret it. It wouldn't be hard for House to come up with a reason not to go to Chicago, and all three of them knew it. Hell, the whole hospital knew it!

Dr. House wasn't just the best doctor she'd ever worked with, he was also the best bullshitter she'd ever met.

"Dr. Cameron," Cuddy said carefully, "I take it, House has already spoken to you about the lecture?"

Allison nodded, sitting up, much to House's annoyance. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her back to him, pinning her head to his chest with his chin. She wasn't moving until one of two things happened. They got a patient or it became one o'clock and they had to move to get to the car.

"I'll be putting Dr. Foreman in charge of the department while House is gone." Cuddy explained, "If there are any problems, you take them up with Dr. Wilson, who will be overseeing any clearances that need to be made, on my behalf." She clapped her hands together, "Okay! See you later." And she left without another word.

Allison sat, slightly surprised. Cuddy hadn't said anything about her cuddling with House. Cuddy hadn't done more than pause for a moment when she'd entered. Cuddy didn't care that she was cuddling with House!

Looking over at her boyfriend excitedly, she informed him of this insight. "She didn't say anything!"

"Should she have?" House leered at her. "Now, I'm sure if you'd been giving me a blowjob, she would have made a comment." He smirked, "Want to try it and find out?"

Allison's eyes narrowed, "Not so much."

"Damn."

"House," Chase burst into the office, "we have a patient."

Allison swore loudly. "We better figure out what the hell is wrong with him in the next five hours." She growled, getting off of the couch in a furry."

Chase watched her stomp out of the department. "Wow."

"I have that effect on women when they don't get my lovin'." House commented as he followed her.

With a slight shudder, Chase tried to wipe out that mental image as he made his way to the new patient's room.

------------------

Allison pouted.

It was nine o'clock at night. Still no breakthrough on the patient. Still no ideas what could be wrong with him.

All they had to go on was vague and non-conclusive.

It wasn't until ten that they determined he was stable enough that they could go home and get a fresh start in the morning, but it would be different then because House wouldn't be there. He'd be at home packing while Allison went on to work.

She moped all the way to the car. Cuddy wouldn't clear her to allow her to see House off at the plane. Instead, because of the stupid patient, she had to be at the hospital.

House nudged Allison as they descended on the elevator. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"I wanted to go with you to the airport." She admitted.

House wrapped his arms around Allison's waist. "You're getting clingy." He teased, kissing her lips gently.

"I am not." She protested, then thought about it. Oh hell, she was getting clingy. She hated herself for it. She knew she was a much stronger person than to feel so lost at the thought of not being with him, but she couldn't help it. The idea of waking up on Thursday and Friday morning and not having him there made her feel lonely already.

Jeez, she was becoming clingy as _hell_.

When they got home, Allison hooked Kane's leash onto her collar and they walked the dog before settling in for the night.

"Too bad I missed out on that dinner." House flopped onto the couch.

Allison pouted, straddling her boyfriend's waist and sprawling the rest of her body over his torso like a blanket. "You look tired." She tried not to whine.

House placed his hands on her hips, tilting his face to the side to capture her lips. He was tired, but there was no way in hell he was going to miss out on his last chance to take full advantage of Allison's offerings when he knew that he wouldn't be able to for the next three days.

"I love you." Allison murmured against his ear as she ground down against him. House smiled and kissed her neck.

"I love you too." He pulled back, unbuttoning the front of her shirt. There was something about when she wore button down blouses that made his heart pound in his chest. The way that each new patch of skin he revealed goose-bumped as cold air touched it made him want to run his hands over it to warm her chilled flesh. The sight of her breasts heaving against her bra as she breathed heavily in anticipation thrilled him. Her tight abdomen and all of its quivering muscles caused a shiver in his spine. Just undressing her made him hard.

Shrugging off her shirt, Allison pressed her body against his once more, smiling against House's cheek as he ran his fingers up her spine to the clasp of her bra. When he flicked it off, she pulled back to let it drop from her body, her nipples already peaked from the chill in the air. Grabbing the tail of his shirt, she pulled it upward, his arms raising to let her remove it.

Their bodies melded together, naked torsos pressing tightly to one another's as they just held each other for a moment, their breaths soft against the other's ear.

"I want you in the bedroom." House finally muttered, shifting his weight to imply that she should rise. Allison nodded, standing and waiting for him to follow her to their room. When he did, she took his hand and they walked in an intimate silence.

Not another word was spoken as Allison flopped onto the bed and House removed his jeans. He didn't have to que Allison to raise her hips as he began removing her pants either. Nothing needed to be uttered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his hips as he crawled up the length of her body.

As House thrust into her, the first word was said, a soft utterance of his voice from Allison's lips as he began making love to her.

Their was no need for an odd location or a crazy contortion of their bodies tonight. The only need was to be able to look into her eyes and see the pleasure flaring behind the dark irises.

When they climaxed together, a sharp keen issuing from both their lips, Allison didn't release him, knees still clenching his hips. She held his head to her chest, breaths labored as she refused to let him go.

"You have to let go sometime." House told her in an amused voice as he fought to keep the bulk of his weight from crushing her.

Allison shook her head, "Never."

"That's a long time." He replied, pulling her with his weight onto her side. House's arms wrapped around her body as he watched her mouth stretch in a deep yawn. He smiled drowsily at her, feeling a yawn building in his own chest. "Night."

"Night, love you."

"Love you too." House admitted, placing another kiss on her mouth before drifting off.

--------

House awoke to find Allison still in his arms, though his shoulders now hurt from the position they'd maintained while sleeping. His neck felt strained and he didn't want to move to start packing. Glancing at the clock he noted that he needed to wake Allison up in time for work, for they'd forgotten to set the alarm.

Regretfully, House rose from bed and shook Allison awake, not chancing that she'd keep him their all morning if he remained in her embrace. She awoke almost violently as he gave her prone body a sharp nudge.

"Mm, wha?" She grunted, rubbing her eyes.

"You've got to get ready for work, and I need to get packing." House stretched, eyes squeezing shut at the pain that coursed through his muscles.

"Uhg." She grunted, getting slowly out of bed. "How about you call me in sick for school today?" Allison pouted, stretching her own nude body in a tantalizing way.

"Tempting." House admitted, "But your substitute teacher may already know what "sick" means today." He pointed out, ignoring his urge to pull her naked body flush against his own. If only just to feel her bare flesh pressed against his one more time before they went their separate ways.

Allison's nose scrunched, "Not fair." She stomped her foot in a sarcastic expression of a petulant child. "Fine." She moped her way to the bathroom to shower and dress while House limped around their bedroom naked, packing his clothing for the next couple days. He knew all too well what would happen in the shower if he joined her, and he also knew she'd be late for work if he gave in.

However, when she emerged from the shower, hair wrapped in a towel and body bare and still dripping with water, House couldn't help the heat that swept through his body and gathered in a particular area.

Glancing at the clock, House calculated in his head. "Are you willing to settle for a poptart for breakfast?" He asked with a menacing grin.

Allison looked at him perplexed, but shrieked with unrestrained giggles as he tossed her onto the bed. He heard Kane give a short bark, rise and the jingle of her collar as she escaped the bedroom. With a laugh, House flattened his body against Allison's, capturing her wrists with his hand and pinning them above her head as he kissed her fully on the mouth.

Allison moaned against his lips, arching her back to press her breasts hard against his chest. She managed to break the hold he had on her wrists as she twisted her hips and rolled on top of him. The towel that had been soaking up her damp hair, tumbled heavily onto the bed as she disrupted its secure status on her head with her movement. House placed his hands on her hips, bucking up against her as she let her own hands fall to his chest.

"Good morning." Allison grinned as she lowered onto his hardened cock, her nails leaving light red trails down his chest.

"Morning." House grunted, his eyes falling shut as she found her rhythm. He sucked in a sharp breath as she sped up and helped her propel her hips against him, his fingers sinking into her flesh, more likely than not, leaving light bruises that would appear later that day.

Allison moaned loudly as their bodies moved together, frantically trying to find release before she had to leave for real.

When both stiffened with climax, a tension that wound down their spines and made their muscles spasm with strain, they panted heavily as Allison collapsed in a sprawl over her boyfriend's body.

She didn't want to move or even raise her head to check the clock and make sure she didn't have to move. Groaning when her eyes strained as far to the side as they could to glance at the clock, she muttered a string of curses. She didn't have time to pretend that she could lie here a moment longer.

With another string of curses, Allison climbed off the bed, leaving a pleased looking House still sprawled on the mattress. She mumbled her pissed off litany of the inconvenient patient that prevented her spending the last few hours she had with House.

"I'll see you Friday night." House reminded her as she dressed slowly. Allison grunted and he laughed, getting out of bed and following her to the kitchen. He watched her grab a bottle of water and a nutri-grain bar from the cabinet. "Stay out of trouble." He teased, resting his hand on her lower back as she walked to the front door, still grumbling. "And I'll call before I get on the plane, I promise." He let his hand slide down her back to give her butt a gentle pat. "I love you." House nuzzled her neck as she opened the door a crack, attempting to conceal her boyfriend's completely naked body from any soul that was venturing down the hall from neighboring apartments.

"I love you too." Allison couldn't help the smile that creased her lips, despite the impending loneliness she'd feel at work and for the next couple of days.

House watched her walk out the door and shut it behind herself. He sighed as he mentally pictured her walking to the elevator alone today. He wondered what breakthroughs they'd have at work, and wished he'd be able to watch them scramble about.

As he walked to the bedroom to finally pack, House thought about how independent they had all become. They no longer needed him to shove the answers under their noses, and were all coming to conclusions they were finally able to support rather than looking to him for hints, or hoping that he didn't ask "why?" when they were just guessing.

After showering, House looked at his suitcase with disdain. He didn't feel like being stuck on a plane with Cuddy and then having to deal with her for the next couple of days with no Allison, no Wilson, and no patient to help him make a quick getaway from the annoyance that was his boss.

-------------

With an annoyed sound in the back of his throat, House looked up at the intercom that had just announced his flight was boarding. Cuddy was ushering him to the gate as if she thought he might make a break for it if she didn't keep an eye on him. He had to sneak away to the men's room to call Allison, just to keep his boss from eaves dropping on him the whole damn conversation. Allison had actually gotten a kick out of hearing the multiple toilet flushes during their conversation. Going so far as to tease him about drinking too much before take off.

As he boarded the plane, House couldn't help but feel that he shouldn't be going. He didn't know what it was, but something kept tugging at his gut, as if to say "If you board this plane you're going to regret it!", but he ignored it. He knew if he didn't get on the plane, Cuddy would give him hell for at least a month.

With another annoyed sound in his throat, House slumped into his chair and waited for take-off. At least the flight wouldn't be too long. Then he could go collapse onto his bed, call Allison one more time before he drank himself into a coma, and then call it a night.

He still had no clue what he was going to talk about at the lecture, but he figured he'd just wing it. Just as he had in the class he had been stuck teaching.

House clenched his eyes shut at take-off. He clenched his eyes at every shake of turbulence.

Normally flying didn't bother him, but on this flight it was making him nervous. Something seemed cruelly poetic about the idea of his flight crashing when he'd finally begun sorting out his life. He was rarely using his Vicodin now, he was walking with a little less of a limp, he had a great girlfriend, and he was feeling all around great with where his life was heading.

Yes, it would be a cruel and unusually justified ending to his life if the plane up and crashed.

At that thought, House's mind came up with much more creative conclusions to what would happen. Somehow it felt much more likely that his death would be the result of something embarrassing.

As these thoughts ended themselves, House tried to think of something new to entertain his time with. The earphones he'd crammed into his ears as they cranked a nice jazz could only distract him so much. He needed something else though.

As he sat for a moment, he began watching the people around him, gaging different things about them. The woman two rows in front and a seat to the left of him appeared to be annoyed with the man who appeared to be her husband who sat next to her. And her husband seemed oblivious to the daggers she was glaring at him. The remainder of the flight was spent trying to flick wads of paper into the space between Cuddy's breasts as she glared at him and threatened to steal his ipod.

House just pointed to his headphones and acted as if he couldn't hear her over the music.

---------------

The plane landed safely and he was in his hotel, dialing Allison's phone while he watched a light snow begin to fall just beyond his window. She hadn't picked up when he'd called the first time after his plane had landed. Now he was calling again, pretty sure she would be home from work by now.

"Hi..." Allison sounded depressed.

"You're not missing me that much already are you?" House teased at her forlorn voice.

Allison mumbled a little as if she were lying in bed already. She sounded ill.

"What's wrong?" House asked, hearing the phone sliding against fabric, possibly a pillow.

"Cramps." Allison grumbled, and he could almost visualize her lying in bed with a heat pad over her abdomen, a bottle of midol and a glass of water on the night stand.

"Sorry to hear that." House flopped backwards onto the bed, "There should be some Vicodin in the medicine cabinet if you're interested." He teased.

"Don't tempt me." Allison muttered sleepily. "Oh, our patient has Trigeminal Neralgia by the way. So those symptoms are separate from the others." He could almost hear a painful flinch in her vocal inflections.

"Ah, any other breakthroughs?" He asked, standing up to begin his usual phone pacing.

"Yeah, it's nothing neurological. We're thinking hormonal." Her voice sounded strained, like she'd scrunched herself together into a tight ball and couldn't supply the breath behind her voice.

"Okay, you sound exhausted, go to bed." He regretted not being able to talk to her longer. "Pop some pills and soak, that should help."

"Don't doctor me." He could hear the smile in her playful voice that shone through despite her evident discomfort.

House flopped onto the bed with a sigh, "Night, love you." He told her.

"Love you too." She said before disconnecting.

Dropping the receiver back in the phone cradle, House kicked off his shoes and looked out the window. The snow was starting to fall a little faster, and it appeared mostly white outside. He was no longer annoyed with the trip, but he was still regretting it. The feeling of something being out of order flooded his gut once more.

What could possibly make his stomach churn like this?

TBC

A/N-Sorry, once again, took a bit of time to get out :(- No excuses this time, just procrastinating. Blanch Sorries :'(!!! But hey! I gave you a longer chapter at least!-Andi 


	25. Chapter 25

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

A/N- I have another Harry Potter Typo for everybody! Second book (Chamber of Secrets) Page 153 Paragraph 9 (Include short one word paragraphs in count) Spells Percy's name "Perry"- Enjoy- Andi

Chapter Twenty-Five: Kane

House was sitting in his hotel room, watching the snow whipping passed his window at a frightening speed. He groaned, annoyed that the weather had kept him longer than he'd wanted. Yesterday was his scheduled departure date, and yet, here it was, Christmas Eve, and he was stuck with his boss, miles from his girlfriend.

He'd spent the early morning glaring at Lisa Cuddy over a donut, blaming her mentally for the bad weather outside. Surely she knew that a horrible blizzard was on its way from the north to collide with the Windy City! If she denied it, he would assume she was lying.

Lisa had folded up her newspaper, eyes narrowing at his glare, "Those daggers you're staring aren't going to make the snow stop." She had pointed out.

"No, but they'll make me feel like I'm at least attempting to do something productive." He countered, finishing the remainder of his donut with a furious bite. He missed the breakfasts Allison cooked him, he'd kill for one of her omelets at this point.

"I'm sure our flight will get out on time tomorrow." Cuddy rolled her eyes, though she did try to _sound_ reassuring. "But I've rebooked our rooms for a couple more days just in case."

House glowered and commented snidely, "I thought you said you were _sure_." Cuddy didn't appreciate his tone, "Chicago weather's really unpredictable. Would you rather sleep at the airport?" She threatened. "I could forget to rebook your room."

House slumped in his chair, drinking the coffee which was not only bitter, but tasted watered down, which confused him. "I'd rather be at home with Ally." He muttered into the styrofoam cup, gulping down the remaining dregs of disgusting coffee.

Cuddy sighed and took her newspaper back to her room, leaving House to himself in the tiny dining area where they'd had a little less than enjoyable continental breakfast. But, hey, it was free, so he wasn't expecting it to be very good.

With a sigh of annoyance, House rose and limped back to his room. He sat there now, waiting for the time he knew Allison would be home from work. He dreaded having to tell her he wouldn't be home that night like they'd thought he would, but hoped that he would make it in time for at least tomorrow.

---------------------

Allison curled into a tight ball on the bed that she lay in alone. The snow outside was falling quickly behind the pane of glass that let her view the outside's new white appearance. According to Greg, it was still snowing in Chicago as well.

Her bottom lip quivered a little as she pulled a pillow closer.

The snow that had begun the night House had arrived in Chicago had not ceased since, and now the giant city was forced to cancel all flights in and out of O'Hare airport. Greg wouldn't be home tonight, and probably not the next either.

And if the snow kept falling at the rate it was, she could count on not being able to safely travel to her brother's for Christmas after work.

Allison hugged her knees close to her chest, limiting the breath she could take in. She figured that her car would at least have to be shoveled out in the morning.

With an annoyed sigh, Allison coiled out of the ball she'd crammed herself into and sprawled onto the bed. She shivered slightly as her body heat dispersed into the room, leaving her chilled. Kane jumped up onto the mattress with her and curled up against her leg, heaving a sigh that said, "Would you get over it already?"

Allison scratched the dog behind its pointed ears and gave herself a mental slap on the face. Why was she being so down anyway? It wasn't like she hadn't spoken to her boyfriend; it wasn't like her brothers and her couldn't reschedule a get together; it wasn't like the actual _date_ of Christmas held any symbolic importance to her, or rather that she even believed in honoring Christ's birth considering her own views on religion.

With that mental note, she rolled out of bed, ignoring the restrictive feeling in her back, and pulled on a thick pair of socks and sweatpants along with a sweater. She went into the hall and put on her boots and winter coat before calling Kane to the door, where the mutt jumped around excitedly as Allison clipped her leash onto the collar.

Together, Allison and Kane went downstairs and out the door. They walked through the heavy snow, the wind having died down and not whipping the falling flakes into Allison's face at it had earlier that day. As they made their way to the park, Allison felt a little better having gotten outside. Unfortunately the cold air still sent horrible shudders throughout her body.

The day had started bad and just gotten worse, and the fact that Greg wouldn't be at work or home to curl up with her and just absorb all of the badness just made it even harder to get through. She wondered how she'd gotten through it before, and as she walked Kane, she rediscovered her original escape.

Watching Kane bound ahead of her, the expandable leash running its full length, jumping into a snowdrift, Allison remembered exactly how she'd ended up with her lovable shepherd. It was exactly two years ago on Christmas.

Her brother Stephen had hosted Christmas, as he had for the last five years, only that year there was an unexpected guest. A puppy who was being referred to as Foxy, that whimpered through most of dinner in a kennel in the guest room on the second floor of her brother's house.

The puppy was barely four weeks old and was lying with a gouge in her leg. Allison had gotten to hold her that night when Ste had gone to change her bandages.

Ste had stumbled upon the puppy on his way home from the animal hospital he worked at, and brought it home, isolating her from the other pets of the house in case of parasites and other diseases he wasn't sure the puppy had or didn't have. So that night, before Allison went home, Ste had asked her if she'd wanted to keep the puppy, and she had agreed.

When she'd gotten home, Allison decided that even though the name Foxy fit the dog with her red coat, she had a a different name in mind. Candycane had been a lie that she'd told House, because she figured that he wouldn't appreciate where the dogs actual name had come from.

It was while the dog sniffed around the new apartment, getting used to the surroundings that would become her home, that Allison noticed something. The gouge in the puppy's leg was causing her to limp from its tenderness.

Allison had slid onto the floor and coaxed the puppy over to her, pulling it into her lap and said with a little sarcasm, "Would you like a cane?"

The puppy had tilted her head, and one thick, dark eyebrow had dropped, a look almost of one that was skeptical before she barked. Allison had laughed and squeezed the puppy tightly to her. Kane had given her a glare that had reminded her completely of her secret crush.

It wasn't until a week went by that Allison realized that the puppy wouldn't come to her when she called the name Foxy, still not having decided on a name. But when she jokingly called her Kane, the puppy had trotted over for the final removal of her bandage. Amazed, Allison decided to keep the name, and ultimately sealing the tribute to her boss.

From that day on, Allison had someone to confide in when she was down, and talk about her secret crush to. Kane would curl against her legs and place her muzzle on her master's lap as she listened, landing sloppy kisses on Allison's cheek when she felt like it.

Allison sighed as she ended her revery, smiling as Kane flopped onto her back in the snowdrift, squirming around and making a doggy snow angel with just her spine. She called Kane to her side and the dog obeyed, snow shaking out of her coat as she bounded over.

With a laugh, Allison scooped up some snow and plopped it on the dog's snout. Kane sneezed and shook her head, dislodging it. With another laugh, the two made their circuit around the park before returning to the apartment to warm back up.

Allison knocked the snow that had accumulated on her coat off as she stepped into the apartment. She had to change her pants again, the hem of the sweats having gotten soaked with melted snow. Then, curling onto the couch, a cup of hot chocolate in her hand, she settled with Kane to watch a movie before bed. She'd found "A Christmas Carol" playing on one of the channels and remembered fondly, how her and her brothers had made it a tradition to watch certain movies around Christmas.

It had really started with their mother, Allison remembered as she sidled into the old movie. A tradition started before her parents had fallen apart, before dad had gotten laid off, and her mother had started drinking to escape a world where her husband would threaten her any time she asked when he planned on finding a new job.

Her mother loved "A Christmas Carol". Jennifer Cameron would curl up on the couch with her three children on Christmas eve and find the movie on whatever station it would be playing on, and the four of them would watch it together as their father snuck to the tree and placed the presents under it. Then they would rush off to bed, eager for the morning when they would unwrap their gifts in giddy excitement.

Allison smiled as she tilted her head to the side, barely paying attention to the movie. She could spend the rest of the night remembering the 'good old days', but she knew it would only lead to the not so good ones. So she chose to stop her memories before they turned dark.

With a little shudder, Allison's teeth chattered a bit feeling suddenly cold. Pulling the blanket on the couch over her legs, she gave another shiver. This had been going on for a couple of days now; her temperature would suddenly spike but then abade a little.

The phone rang, making Allison jump and Kane bark at her master's startled movement. Allison calmed the dog and picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Hi, Ally." House said softly, "Didn't wake you, did I?" He asked.

"No, just watching a movie." Allison repressed the moan she felt building in the back of her throat. Her head was swimming with heat now, and she shuffled off to the bathroom to find the thermometer, the blanket wrapped tightly around her body so that her feet could only shuffle a couple inches. She'd been feeling like she was coming down with something for the last couple weeks, but the stress between Thanksgiving and Christmas had kept her pushing passed the sickness, along with the continued anxiety of House leaving, only to be trapped by a blizzard in Chicago. Her body was finally crashing and she knew it. Either she was going to be sick or she had to fight it off completely, once and for all.

Popping the thermometer in her mouth, Allison listened as House started grumbling about the lecture he'd been forced to give.

"How'd that go?" She asked, trying not to slur her words around the thermometer or let it slip from between her tongue and bottom of her mouth .

She could almost see House roll his eyes. "Boring as hell, nobody asked any questions, nobody challenged my statements." He sighed, "It was like spending four hours talking to Chase." After a pause he said, "I miss Foreman."

"Aw, I'll tell you're medical mistress that you miss him." Allison sunk back onto the couch. She sighed and the thermometer beeped.

"What was that?" House asked, hearing the beeping sound.

"Thermometer... Ghu." Allison looked at the numbers in disgust. "101.9" She announced.

House sighed, "Get to bed, Ally." He told her gently, but with a slightly commanding tone to his voice.

"But..." Allison fought to stay on the phone. She didn't want to miss his voice if she could help it.

"Ally." He said firmly.

"Just a bit longer?" She begged, rubbing her abdomen that was now starting to cramp as it had the day before when she'd gotten her period. Great, she thought to herself, sick, missing her boyfriend, and on her period, could it get any worse?

House sighed in defeat, "Fine."

"How's the weather?" She asked, hopeful that he'd be able to come home soon, despite it not being until Christmas day at the earliest.

"Clearing up a little. I may be able to get out of here tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully our airport won't be cancelling landings."

"Nah, the snow over here's about ready to stop. The system that hit Chicago is mostly either died out or gone south of us. And the system up in Canada looks a few days away before it hits." Allison assured him, pulling the blankets tighter to her body.

House spoke with a hint of sarcasm in his next statement, "Why thank you, my little meteorologist."

"You're welcome." She replied brightly, belying the miserable feeling of the shivers that ran through her body. Allison wanted to fight it, but couldn't help the want to get off the phone and collapse once more in bed.

As if sensing her dilemma, House said gently, "Will you get some rest now?"

Allison sighed, trying to sound defeated, but was silently rejoicing. "Okay. Night, love you."

"Love you too." House answered and disconnected.

Wearily, Allison stood up once more, but her head swam with the sudden movement and she went in her slow progression to the kitchen to drink some water.

As she drank she stared at the wall in front of her, hoping the water would quell the nausea that was now building. Unfortunately, as she set the glass down, the water came back up, still as cool as it had been going down, before she could even release the cup. Allison doubled over the sink and let the water she'd just tried to swallow, empty into the splotched silver of the sink.

Allison let out a strangled, frustrated cry and slammed the glass in her hand harshly against the counter. A fissure erupted from the base, leaving a deep scar in the glass, which only furthered the woman's anger and frustration. Opting for a bottle of water, Allison grabbed the thermometer and shuffled to the bedroom.

She couldn't remember feeling this miserable, not even when the illness that had brought her and House together was cycling its way between the two of them. Flopping onto the bed, Allison crawled under the covers, still cocooned in the blanket from the couch. Kane jumped up with her, settling her muzzle on the lump that was Allison's hip. The woman lay on her side and stared passed the garbage can that was between the bed and her night stand to look at the clock. She fell into an exhausted sleep, still gazing at the illuminated red numbers.

-------------------------

With a jerk, Allison awoke to a lurch in her stomach. She was shivering relentlessly, not even wanting to peak her head out from beneath the blankets for fear of the climate outside her nest. With another violent constriction of her stomach, Allison tore her head from under the thick mass of blankets and managed to get her face over the garbage can as she vomited into it. Allison moaned, feeling tears spring to her eyes. How could today get any worse? She wanted House. She wanted her brothers. She wanted someone to bring her crackers.

Allison hadn't felt this helpless since she was a teenager and had had a bizar viral infection in her tonsils which not only spiked her temperature but also kept her from eating for almost a week, only able to consume luke-warm fluids.

At least then her brothers had taken care of her, babying her, and years before then when she'd gotten sick, it had been her mother. But Allison could not remember ever being this sick and on her own.

Curling into a tight ball, Allison cried and shook from her fever, the slight crispness of the air sending shivers all throughout her body.

She cried herself back to sleep.

--------------

Allison awoke with a start. Someone had just slammed a door in the apartment. Slightly frightened, Allison climbed out of bed, wondering why Kane wasn't barking. It was odd to be awoken by a door and not her dog's alerting voice.

Creeping into the darkened hallway, Allison swallowed a lump in her throat as she heard a soft gurgling whine. Approaching the sound, heart hammering in her chest, Allison tried to find its origin. However, as she stepped into the widening area of the living room, her foot stepped in a puddle of fluid, sending her foot slid from beneath her, and she fell flat on her back and onto the hardwood floor.

Dazed, Allison looked beside her and screamed. Kane was beside her, throat cut and the gurgling whine was coming from the gaping wound in her neck. Loud, piercing screams that Allison didn't know she could create, rang through the apartment.

As she scrambled back from the dog's now limp body, Allison choked on her cries as a shadow loomed in the darkened corner of the living room. It rose swiftly, a cool hand clamping over her mouth, freezing her.

-----------

"Shhhh, Ally, Shh." House's voice crooned as Allison thrashed. He tried to muffle her screaming with his hand, but she just cried harder and flung her weakened limbs at him.

Allison's eyes blinked open, she was shaking from fear and cold as tears streamed from her eyes. "Kane!?" She called, not even noticing that House was sitting on the bed with her or that bright sunlight was pouring in through the windows.

The dog gave a little, fearful whine from the corner of the bedroom. Her tail was between her legs, obviously just as horrified as her master.

"Kane, baby, come here, please?" Allison begged, still shaking. Slowly the dog inched towards Allison, still confused and afraid. But as she hopped on the bed and Allison buried her face into the dog's coat and sobbed, Kane seemed to calm down a bit and gave Allison a weak lick on the cheek.

"Lie back down." House murmured, pressing her slightly into the bed, where he'd propped a couple more pillows behind her to keep her slightly inclined. "Take this." He handed her a couple tablets of ibuprofen and a glass of water. "Your temperature is still at 103." He explained. "You peaked at 104.8 a few hours ago."

Allison nodded, sipping the water, barely able to swallow the pills with her throat so dry. They stuck to the roof of her mouth before she managed to flush them down with the water.

"What time is it?" She asked groggily, still shook up from her nightmare, however it quickly disintegrated into a less detailed memory.

"Three in the afternoon." House said gently. "I just got home an hour ago." He explained, placing a luke-warm towel over her head. "When you didn't show up for work, Wilson came to see if you were okay. And when I called when I landed he told me you had a bad fever and were hallucinating." He ran his finger down her cheek. "What was your nightmare?" He asked gently.

Allison froze for a moment, trying to remember it. "I..." She thought for another moment, "I heard something, and when I went to find out what it was I slipped and fell... There was a noise too... I can't remember..."

"You were screaming your head off." House supplied, "I had just let Wilson out the door and you started screaming less than a minute later."

Allison's eyes widened, "That's what it was... I heard a door slam and I went to see what it was. I got into the hall, and..." She trailed off for a second and then her eyes went big once more and she choked on a sob. "And I heard a wheezing sound. When I got to the living room I slipped and-" a tear trickled again from her eyes, "Kane was lying on the floor with her throat cut, and someone jumped out at me and clamped their hand over my mouth to stop my screaming." She squeezed her eyes shut and more tears leaked out. She swept the cloth from her forehead and dove once more beneath the blankets. "Greg, she was dead." She cried beneath the covers.

House sighed and wrapped his arms around the lump in the bedsheets, comforter and blanket from the couch. He placed his chin on what felt like her shoulder. "She's okay." He said loudly enough for her to hear through her insulation without losing the comforting tone. "You need to come out from there and drink more water." House tugged gently at the edge of the blanket, trying to peer inside. He felt the bundle of blankets quiver as if objecting and smiled to himself. It was impossible to doctor a doctore. He sighed and gave the blankets another tug and finally Allison popped out, blankets still up to her chin. A pale hand peaked out and took the glass he offered and sipped slowly.

"I'll be right back." House got up, leaving her to finish the glass of water. He returned with yet another glass, set it on the night stand, and pulled a small wrapped box from behind his back. "Merry... Well, happy holidays." He smirked at her, handing her the gift.

Allison took the neatly wrapped present, knowing all too well that he hadn't wrapped it himself. For one thing, it wasn't half covered in scotch tape and for another, she couldn't see any of the white underside of the paper poking out at the creases and edges. Carefully unwrapping it, Allison looked at the box curiously. It was definitely a jewelry box. It was definitely a necklace sized one, and as she held her breath and opened the box, it was definitely more expensive looking than anything she'd bought in her entire life aside from, perhaps, her car.

Allison took a deep shuddering breath. barely daring to touch the diamond that dazzled up at her face. This wasn't hers was it? He wasn't actually giving her this was he? It couldn't be a real diamond that was shining up at her from its spot on the black inner lining of the box.

"You might want to breathe some time soon." House prodded her gently, taking the box from her and removing the necklace. He gestured for Allison to sweep up her hair, and she did so with shaking hands. Reaching around her neck, House clasped the necklace for her and let the three stoned, round diamond pendant fall between the prominent dip of her collar bones. Allison's fingers went to touch it, but they drew back as if burned. She didn't dare touch it. She couldn't. What if she made it dirty? "Breathe?" He coaxed again with a laugh and Allison took in a great, gasping breath.

"My present is going to look like crap now." She muttered, glancing across the room at the mirror to see her necklace gleam back at her.

"The flask you bought me? I love it." House grinned at her.

"How did you-?"

"Found it while I was packing for Chicago." He handed her the glass of water that, until now, had remained untouched.

"Did you find what I bought you to put in the flask?" She asked, a gleam in her eye.

House let a single eyebrow raise suspiciously. "No..."

"My underwear drawer." She pointed to the dresser. "Under the whites-"

"'Cause you know I'd never look at the whites." He teased, opening the drawer and letting his hand dive under her underwear and letting his eyebrows draw together curiously as his hands wrapped around a bottle. Extracting the bottle, his eyes lit up. "Single Malt, aged 17 years." He said in awe. "Now I just love you even more."

He flopped back on the bed, watching her guzzle down the glass of water like she hadn't drank in weeks. "Feeling better?" House asked, leaning over her and pressing his lips to her forehead, like a parent would a small child. "You're fever's breaking." He commented.

Allison leaned back against the pillows. "Think you can stomach some food?" House asked, rising with his whiskey. Allison nodded, "Ramen okay? It's about the only thing I can make without ruining it." He told her sheepishly. Allison smiled at him and nodded again, "Coming right up." He took a moment to tuck the covers of her blankets around her a little tighter before leaving for the kitchen.

Allison bit her lip and let her hand trail just below her necklace. With a deep breath she finally allowed herself to touch it, feeling a rush of heat that had nothing to do with a fever.

As Kane jumped back onto the bed once again, Allison let her arm cling around the dog's neck as she snuggled into bed once more.

What a Merry Christmas it had been afterall.

TBC

A/N- Hope everybody enjoyed! I'm not gonna lie, it's VERY weird writing a Christmas story in August, but hey! I couldn't write a bunch of bullshit or keep from writing another chapter for the next four months! So, just wishing everybody a Merry Christmas in August I suppose! LoL, At the rate I'm going, I may hit Christmas again by Christmas:o J/K- Anyway, happy August to everyone :D- Andi

P.S- Yes, another long chapter! AND I hope I didn't traumatize anyone with Allison's nightmare! I promise you, Kane is FINE! But as someone who's actually HAD fever hallucinations and fever dreams, they can be very WEIRD or very SCARY... or both... Anyway! NIGHT!-Andi

P.S.S- And WOAH! Sorry to break it to you guys, if you haven't figured it out by the end of this chapter: Allison is NOT pregnant or having a miscarriage! Joint and muscle pain is common with flu, fever, etc... And some women do experience tenderness in the breasts around their period if that is what caused this WAVE of conspiracy. After rereading the last couple of chapters, I totally see how you all arrived at your conclusions, and I apologise for the hailstorm of suspicion. Sorry to have mislead you, but yeah... So, you can chill... And also, I just realized that this is the 25th chapter and ended on Dec. 25th, total coincidence I SWEAR! But hey, still kinda funny!...And this A/N is getting ridiculously long so... BYE!!!-Andi 


	26. Chapter 26

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted, BITCHES!

Chapter Twenty-Six: Writing on the Walls

"You're sure you're feeling up to working today." House asked for the millionth time as he grabbed his cane, which was hooked on the coat rack by the door, since he hadn't really needed to use it to get around the apartment as of late.

Allison made a low moan in the back of her throat, both of annoyance and just being sick of him asking. "Greg, I haven't had a fever in two days!" Allison reminded him, "I would have gone back yesterday, but you insisted that I was still off color and should probably give it another good days rest!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, her lip jutting out as she gazed up at him beneath long dark lashes. "Don't you miss me at work?" She asked coquettishly, head tilting ever so slightly to the left, the corner of her mouth itching upward as she held his gaze. It had almost been a week since they'd made love, and it was really starting to bother her.

House's tongue darted out to moisten his suddenly dry lips, mouth lowering to just a mere inch from hers. He held back the urge to kiss her, long enough to say, "You win." And claimed her lips with his. Tongue darting out once more to trace her lips now, House let the hand that wasn't holding his cane trace down her spine. "We'll be late." He pointed out, pulling away. Allison just smiled again, grabbed her coat and went out the door. House followed, meeting her at the elevator.

Driving to work, House watched Allison out of the corner of his eye. He wondered momentarily, as he placed his hand on her thigh, if she would be willing to sneak off sometime today. The roof of the hospital was out, now that it had snowed, he wasn't even sure if they would be able to get the door open, let alone withstand the cold. He had serious doubts if he could even get it up in the chilly air, even with Allison's unique motivations.

Smiling down at the hand that rested on her thigh, Allison placed her own, smaller hand over his, giving it a tight squeeze.

As the two made their way to the elevators as usual, Allison wrapped her arm around House's waist. The man flinched slightly at her sudden action, but quickly fell back into pace, a wry grin on his face as a couple of nurses did double takes. Everyone may have known they were together, but very few witnessed the visual evidence.

When they reached diagnostics, Allison went strait for the coffee maker, and House kicked his feet up on the table, pulling his GBA out of the breast pocket of his button down. His Cream shirt that he had loaned Allison once was peaking out beneath the half buttoned shirt. Allison sat next to him as the coffee brewed.

Suddenly, the quiet morning was interrupted as not just one, not just two, but THREE doctors burst into the office.

"I have a case for us (you)!" Said Foreman, Chase, and Wilson all together, the only thing keeping them from sounding like a three man a coppella group was Wilson's "you" in difference to the other two's "us".

"And for an encore..." House muttered under his breath, clicking his GBA shut. "What have we got?" He asked, standing in unison with Allison.

"Fifty year old woman-"

"Twenty year old man-"

"Sixteen year old boy-"

House put his fingers to his eyes. "Foreman, you take the old woman." He pointed. "Chase take the twenty year old. Ally, take the sixteen year old." He pointed to the other two. "And I will sit here, drink my coffee and yell at you all for being stupid in about an hour." He said glancing at his watch. "Fly, fly my pretties." He waved them off and slumped back into his chair. Wilson stayed as the other diagnosticians went about their assigned missions.

"Would you really call Ally stupid?" Wilson asked, taking a seat aside House.

"Psh." House looked at the coffee maker, debating if he really wanted to get up and grab a cup, but decided not to out of sheer laziness.

"That's not an answer."

"I'm not going to tell her she's right when she's wrong, just because she's my girlfriend..." He thought for a moment, "Okay, I'm not going to tell her she's right when she's wrong when a person's life hangs in the balance, just because she's my girlfriend..." He thought again for a moment, "Fine, I'm not going to tell her she's right when she's wrong when a person's life hangs in the balance and I can suffer through yet another malpractice suit, just because she's my girlfriend."

Wilson laughed, getting up and grabbing a mug and House's usual red one and filling them both with coffee. He returned and set the red mug in front of House and drank from the chipped white one.

"Thanks, dear." House rolled his eyes, "I dont' see why I should bother coming to work." He said nonchalantly. "Either Ally does everything for me at home, or you do everything for me at work." He took up the mug and drank, sighed and pulled his GBA out once more.

As predicted, an hour later Chase, Foreman and Allison returned to the office, all clenching their clipboards, hoping to be the first to speak.

All three broke into speech simultaneously, and House hushed them. "Ally, you first." He said, walking over to his white board and uncapping the marker.

"Why do you always let her go first?" Chase whined.

House gave him a look of, -You can't really be that dense, can you?- before he turned back to Allison.

One by one, Allison, Chase and Foreman listed their symptoms and House copied them, with some difficulty squeezing all three lists of symptoms, onto the board.

An Hour Later

"Well a combination of hypokalemia and liver failure may mean-" Foreman began.

"I have hypokalemia, Chase has liver failure." Allison cut in, annoyed that Foreman had yet again mixed up the symptoms with the two other patients.

"Well, what about the heart palpitations and pulmonary edema." Chase observed.

"I have pulmonary edema and Foreman has palpitations." Allison groaned as both her coworkers were now messing up. She was so busy correcting them and trying to keep everything straight in her own head, that she hadn't even had the opening to screw it up herself!

"Okay, palpitations and liver failure." Chase corrected, looking more confused as he tilted his head to the side to try and read a symptom that had been scribbled at an angle in the corner.

"YOU HAVE LIVER FAILURE, I HAVE PALPITATIONS!" Foreman screamed, "Can't you even keep your own patient's symptoms straight!?"

"Fuck you, Eric!" Chase stood up, nearly toppling his chair backwards. "You messed it up first!"

"I at least kept my own patient's symptoms together. I only got confused when I tried helping you figure out your condition." Foreman stood up as well, his chair actually falling over.

A loud clatter made the bickering stop and Chase and Foreman froze. They looked over and saw that House had just thrown the white board halfway across the room, which had smashed into the coffee maker, sending coffee and glass from the now shattered remains of the pot onto the floor.

Without a word, House limped, without his cane, to his office. He drew the blinds. All three swallowed the lumps that had built in their throats.

"You go." Foreman and Chase said together in hushed voices to Allison.

"Why me!?" She squeaked, never seeing House that mad herself.

"Well, he can't castrate you!" Chase reminded her.

Allison whimpered in the back of her throat, but before she could take a step towards his office, he reappeared. Everyone gulped again.

"Allison, give me your symptoms again." House grunted, uncapping his black marker with a vengeance.

Allison quickly rattled off her symptoms and to everybody's awe, House began writing them in big words on the glass walls that separated his office from the rest of the department. He did the same for all three, making sure they were each on a completely different section of the wall. The blinds had only been drawn to give a solid background so that they could read the writing on the walls with more ease.

"Now..." House threw his marker to the floor, the cap shooting off and under a nearby desk. "Where were we?"

Another Hour Later

Lisa Cuddy found herself walking backwards and gazing through the glass wall of the Diagnostics department. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Storming into the room, hands placed firmly on her hips she asked in a demanding tone, "Who the HELL do you think is going to clean that up!?"

House looked innocently up at his boss, "We've got three patients and the tinyness of my white board seemed unable to contain the vast amount of symptoms of each patient without confusing the ever loving hell out of Chase." He announced, looking back at the wall which was now a collage of symptoms and potential diagnosi, along with treatments for each. "By the way, the twins are cold."

Cuddy glanced down automatically, crossed her arms over her chest and stomped out of the department.

Foreman, who was currently munching on an apple as he continued viewing the wall said with a small amount of amusement, "We should use the wall more often, this is much easier to read."

"You can stay after work with the glass cleaner then." House snatched the apple out of Foreman's hand, took a bite and replaced it back into the fingers that were still holding the shape of the apple.

Allison shook her head, contemplating the answer to the riddles in front of her. She was pretty sure Chase's answer was up there, and Foreman's ideas seemed quite plausible, but hers... Allison tilted her head. Sixteen year old boy with pulmonary edema and hypokalemia. She looked at the rest of her symptoms, rose and walked to her part of the wall. Standing for a moment, she tilted her head, then started pointing to each symptom and muttering under breath. Chase, Foreman and House watched her as she began looking at the floor, spotted the discarded marker and began writing little letters next to the symptoms.

Suddenly, Allison spun around with a gleam in her eyes like a detective who'd just solved a year long case. "Salicylate poisoning!" She announced, beaming.

House tilted his head and saw what she'd pieced. Confusion, electrolyte imbalances, pulmonary edema...

"Get him an emergency transfusion before he goes into a coma." House demanded.

Cases solved, all three went to administer their treatments, returning at different times throughout the remainder of the morning. Allison was the last to return, when she did she practically hopped into the department.

"Good outcome?" House asked, as he saw her beaming face enter his office, and kick off her shoes. Allison nodded and House clicked his GBA shut and gestured to the office windows that faced the hall. Allison flushed and ran to them, shutting the blinds and locking the door behind her. She locked the door to the main department and then skipped to the couch, immediately straddling House's lap, a manic grin on her face.

Peeling Allison's lab coat off of her shoulders, House let his hands drop to her hips, his neck arching up to catch her lips with his own. Allison gave a little roll with her hips as she kissed him back. Pulling away, she placed her hands on either of his knees, arching her back to grind herself against him. House caught the hem of her shirt and worked it upwards to expose her flat tummy, his tongue running over the centerline of her abs Allison groaned as his hands ran up her sides and over her breasts, small kisses being peppered all over her stomach. One of his hands slid up behind her neck and pulled her down to kiss him once again. Eyes clamped shut, Allison lowered her head, her tongue darting out to run against the roof of his mouth.

Rolling her hips, Allison ground down hard against the growing bulge in House's pants. She could feel him pushing up against her center, which made a healthy pink tinge her cheeks. His hands slid down her sides once more to grip her ass, pushing her harder against his erection. Allison gasped against his mouth as she pulled the tail of his Cream shirt and button down up around his chest and then pulled away long enough to tug it off over his head. Quickly, their mouths collided once more, Allison's bottom rolling harder than ever against him as he quickly tossed her shirt aside, along with her bra.

With a grin on her lips, Allison stood up and shimmied out of her pants, remaining only in her panties, which were a soft peach color with string sides that were tied in long bows. Almost completely naked, Allison went back to the couch, but rather than sit on his lap again, she knelt on the cushion next to him. He quirked an eyebrow at her, but drew in a sharp breath when she began undoing his pants. Soon she was pushing his pants down his hips and he had to roll his hips upward so she could remove them completely. Kicking off his pants and shoes he looked at Allison once more, curious what she was doing, for she still remained on the cushion to his side.

Running her hand down his chest, Allison gave his mouth another quick kiss before she pulled away and kissed down the length of his torso. House slouched slightly and gasped when she reached his cock, which was now standing completely at attention.

Smiling a little to herself, Allison took his cock in her hands, stroking the base as she gave the glistening head a long, slow lick. House ran his hand down her back with a groan, his palm sliding along to cup her breast and roll her peaking nipple between his fingers. Allison circled her hips involuntarily as he gave her nipple a slight pinch, as if to alleviate the tension between her thighs. As she enveloped the head of his shaft with her lips, House groaned again, his neck lolling back for a moment before he reached for something.

House grabbed the remote to the television, turning it on to drown out the sounds he knew they'd be making. Allison looked up at him, a gleam in her eye, and House groaned again at that sexy look she flashed him for the second time that day. It was much more effective, he realized, with his cock in her mouth.

Releasing her breast, House ran his palm back down her spine, his hand circling over the roundness of her ass. Allison rolled her hips again, encouraging him to run his fingers over the dampening spot in her panties. She moaned at the feeling of his digits over her sensitive pussy, and she ground hard against his palm in response. Pressing the tip of his finger harder against the wet circle, House groaned as she emitted a soft cry against his cock. He grabbed the remote again and turned up the volume a little bit further.

Working his fingers around the elastic of her panties, House's fingertips came in contact with the juices that were flowing heavily. He looked down at her bobbing head as he circled his fingers around in the stickiness between her legs, letting a finger dip inside. Allison pulled her head back with a gasp, moaning before taking him back into her mouth. With a wriggle of her hips, Allison took him fully into her mouth, tongue tracing the swell of veins as she closed her eyes, enjoying the movement of his fingers against her.

Feeling as if he were about to explode if he didn't stop her soon, House gently pulled her head back with his free hand and stood up. He shoved away the pile of his shoes, pants and underwear with his foot as he walked behind her. Allison followed his movements, still on her hands and knees. As he took one knee behind her, she felt his hand slide down the length of her spine and shuddered. Turning her head over her shoulder, she watched as House pulled one of the dangling strings of her panties and tugged it until one side fell limply.

Arching an eyebrow out House, she saw him lower his mouth to her sex. Her back arched slightly as his tongue slid inside the folds. She crawled up a bit further to give him more room behind her, bracing herself against the arm of the couch as his tongue glided up and down, circling her clit and then rising to sink into her juice filled channel. "Ahn, Greg." She moaned into the arm of the couch as his hands kneaded her ass. "Mm, fuck me, fuck me now." She cried into the rough texture of the upholstery.

House gave her one more stroke with his tongue before he rose up behind her. Allison was still gasping for breath as he slid into her. He saw her back arch and she straitened her arms against the couch to push back against him. Though he couldn't see her face, he knew she was biting her bottom lip to keep from moaning too loud. It would be way too suspicious if the tv got any louder.

Running his hand up her back, House raked a single nail down her spine. The shiver that ran through her made the inner muscles clamp down around his member. House now found himself biting the inside of his cheek to keep from shouting as he pumped in and out from behind her. The heavy breaths and the sound of their bodies colliding was drowned out by the tv, but the cry he knew was building in the back of his throat would not be dampened so easily.

Allison let her head fall between her arms, her shoulder blades jutting out from the position as she panted and cried into the cushion. Everything felt so good that she couldn't keep the whimpers and moans at bay.

House, however, ruined her sound dampening by putting his arms around her chest and pulling her upward so she was kneeling up in front of him. She choked on the cry in her throat, and House's hand clamped over her mouth just to be certain as his free hand cupped and squeezed her breast, and he busied his mouth with nipping the juncture between her neck and shoulder. Allison gasped for breath against his hand, her head flinging back as she came. House followed her over the edge moments later, giving one last harsh bite on her shoulder before he slumped backwards against the arm of the chair, Allison still leaning against him.

"Oh wow..." Allison said breathlessly as she panted.

House continued running his hand up and down the length of her torso, his head lulling back against his shoulders. Sliding off of him, Allison retied the strings to the side of her panties and went about finding her clothes and dressing. House rubbed his face roughly before doing the same. Soon they were redressed and curled on the couch, having unlocked the doors and drawn the blinds to avoid suspicion.

Once they'd gotten comfy and cosy, they were almost immediately interrupted.

"I was wondering how long I'd have to wait." Wilson announced, stepping in from the balcony door behind House's desk. "You carried on like you hadn't screwed in months." He pushed House's chair over and flopped into it, opting _not_ to take the remaining cushion on the couch.

Allison went bright red, "You were _watching_ us!?" She asked disbelievingly.

Wilson rolled his eyes, "No, I could hear the tv out on the balcony." He explained, "That tv doesn't get that loud unless there's something going on. And with you two, I kind of figured it out."

House smirked, "Congratulations, Jimmy, you've solved the mystery of life." He reached around Allison's body to give his friend an applause.

"Fuck off, House." Wilson leaned further into the chair. "Glad you're feeling better now, Ally." He smiled at the woman.

"I've _been_ feeling better, but someone wouldn't let me come back to work." She said pointedly to her boyfriend. "But thanks."

"So, have you talked to your brothers about rescheduling your get together?" Wilson asked, kicking his feet onto the arm of the couch, narrowly missing House's elbow and earning a glare.

"Yeah, we're meeting the second week of January." Allison nodded, "Bryce, sounded really disappointed about having to reschedule. He said he had really good news." She thought for a moment, "Maybe he and Lolie filled another DVD rack." She joked.

House gave her side a small squeeze, "Well, we'll find out in a couple weeks." He pointed out.

Allison nodded, but continued vibrating with excitement. She couldn't be sure until Bryce and Lolie told her, but she had a good suspicion about what the good news was. She just hoped she was right!

TBC


	27. Chapter 27

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Happy News

Allison jumped giddily around the apartment, gathering items from the closet.

"Settle down." House grumbled as he watched his girlfriend zooming around their bedroom from his spot on the bed. Kane raised her head slightly from House's knee to watch lazily as her master ran around the room. She seemed almost as irate as House.

With a slightly goofy look, Allison jumped onto the bed and pommeled him to the mattress, the same crazy smile on her face. Kane, aggravated at loosing her pillow, hopped off of the bed with a grunt.

Scrunching his nose, House gnashed his teeth at her like a fearsome dog, "You're asking for it, if you don't settle down." He warned jokingly, though his voice didn't give anything away.

Allison tilted her head, her manic grin lessening to a gentle smile. "I'm just excited about seeing my brothers." She said, kicking a knee over his waist as if she were mounting a horse. House placed his hands on her calves as he looked up at her excited face. "I really want to know what surprise Bry has in store for us."

"As long as it's not a seafood boat."

"Shrimp crab boat." Allison corrected automatically, as if it were normal for people to confuse the story.

"I thought it was a tree made out of plastic." House teased, remembering the joke from Thanksgiving. "How did that even manifest itself, if I may ask?"

Allison suddenly went a bit still, "Well... It's actually not a funny story originally." She looked thoughtful. "My family and I were driving back from Illinois the day before Thanksgiving, my cousin had just died, and we were coming back from his wake." House tilted his head to the side, as if to silently apologise. "We were all feeling a bit down... My mom's the youngest of seven, you see, and so she has a lot of nieces and nephews..." Allison shook her head as if to get back on the subject. "Anyway, we were driving back and it was snowing a bit. I looked out the window as were passing a boat dealership and I saw that they had put plastic lining over all the boats to protect them from the snow. So, I said, "Look, a shrunk-wrap boat." Too which, Ste looked around and saw a Christmas tree and said, "That's not a shrimp crab boat, it's a tree made out of plastic." And to this day, he has not lived it down." Allison finished her story.

"Ah, well, you have too many family jokes to get through before we leave to meet them in the next, ohhh," he looked at his watch, "twenty minutes." Allison's eyes went wide.

"TWENTY MINUTES!" She screeched, getting up and running all over the apartment again. House watched with great amusement as she ran fully clothed into the bathroom, emerged twenty seconds later in just her panties, ran to the closet, to the dresser, and back to the bathroom. Slightly bemused, House saw her come scrambling back out, brushing her teeth and hair simultaneously. At that sight, House couldn't help but think she would have made an excellent drummer with such coordination. "Why didn't you tell me I only had twenty minutes to get ready!?" She asked, nearly spitting a mouthful of foam at him.

"I thought you were ready." House quirked an eyebrow.

Allison sputtered slightly, "You thought I was going to meet my brother's in _that_!?" She gestured to the pile of t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of socks, one of which had a hole in it, that she had been wearing moments prior.

House shrugged, "Didn't think you cared. They are your family after all." Allison made a choking sound like she had just been slapped in the face before disappearing back in the bathroom. When she emerged ten minutes later, she looked transformed.

She was wearing her dark blue, chiffon dress, which House vaguely remembered stuffing into a duffle bag in November when they went to West Virginia. Her diamond necklace that he'd given her for Christmas was nestled in it's usual spot in the dip of her throat, and a pair of sapphire studded earrings were on her ears. Her hair was smoothed into a loose bun in the back, small tendrils of hair framing her face, and a modest amount of make-up to smooth the appearance of her nearly flawless complexion. She was just running a bit of gloss over her lips when House stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

"What are you- mmm..." Allison stopped talking as House pressed his mouth to hers. He could taste the sweet flavor of her lip gloss, an artificial attempt at strawberry, that just turned into a sweet, sticky shine on her lips. He was vaguely reminded of PEZ when he pulled back and let his tongue flicker out to taste his own lips. Allison was looking at him with a kind of hunger, but she shook her head, as if mentally calculating the impossible time frame they were working with. It was absolutely impossible to squeeze sex into the 7 remaining minutes they had left before they were meant to leave... Then again... They could always be a _little_ late... Allison shook her head again. No, then she'd have to redo her hair an redress and... Well if they were really careful, she could always... NO! She yelled again in her head. Besides. She glanced at the clock, she'd wasted too much time trying to figure out a way to cram sex into their time frame, and now there was absolutely NO TIME!

House wanted to laugh at the look of Allison's internal war flickering across the expressions on her face. He could tell what she was deliberating over and it amused him. "Come on, let's get going." House smirked, grabbing the bag she'd had lying on the bed, that was now filled with the gifts she'd gotten for her brothers.

As House, Allison and Kane were driving down the highway, west towards Pennsylvania, House thought of something he'd meant to ask for a while. "Ally," he began carefully, "why don't Morgan and Lolie visit their families for holidays?" He asked.

Allison lulled her head back, smiling when Kane licked her cheek, "Well, Morgan's family wanted nothing to do with him when they found out he was gay. And Lolie... Well, her mom's really difficult to get along with." She tried to place delicately. "She still sees them, but Lolie refuses to go home for actual holidays. They had to move out of the midwest because her mother kept dropping in whenever she wanted. First weekend after my brother's honeymoon he had to go to a job training session in Ohio, and then the weekend after that Lolie's mom dropped by and stayed all of Friday and Saturday." Allison rolled her eyes. "Guess the woman just couldn't let go, huh?"

House laughed and nodded. It was a two hour drive to Stephen's apartment, and he was just a little aggravated with the road conditions. More snow had fallen, and the roads were not in the best shape.

When they finally arrived at the apartment complex, Allison grabbed the bag of gifts from the back seat, and House grabbed Kane's leash. He needn't have bothered, because Kane went strait to the door without any leading.

"Ste! Your baby sister's here! Buzz her up!" Allison squealed into the intercom. A buzz emitted and the door unlocked. Two flights of stairs and an excited knock later, and House, Kane and Allison were in the apartment. "Aww, hi Mari monster!" Allison was picking up a squirming little daschund.

House looked around, Morgan hadn't been joking back at Thanksgiving. Their home really was a zoo. He saw a cat sitting on top of the fridge, another curled under a dining room chair, and a third lying lazily on the back of a couch. Then their were the two dogs. One that Allison was playing with, and another that was a golden retriever, sitting older and dignified by the counter, in comparison to the little daschund who was trying to get as much attention as it could. Then, House also jumped when he saw what looked suspiciously like a rabbit, hopping through an open doorway.

"Hey!" Morgan gave House a brief hug, "Glad to see you again." He was grinning. "From the sounds of it, this is going to be one hell of a newsy get together." He said excitedly.

"What do you mean?" Asked House in a bemused voice, still getting over the amount of life in the apartment. He now spotted a twenty gallon fish tank, which he recognized as a salt water tank. "And if you don't mind me asking, how do you get away with this many pets?"

"I'm the landlord." Morgan smirked.

"Ah." House met Stephen in the kitchen where he was stirring around a thick looking soup. He felt his stomach lurch with hunger at the smell, "What is that?"

"Ham bone soup." Allison was practically bouncing.

Stephen rolled his eyes, "It's potato soup, Ally just calls it that because I use a ham bone to make it."

Once again, House felt like he was being whirled into a land where nothing was going to make sense. He saw Kane curling up with the golden retriever. He saw the three cats, one white, one black, and one calico meet by a water dish, the white one splashing its paw into it and sending a small wave at the calico one. And his suspicions were confirmed about the rabbit as it came hopping into the hallway once again.

"So..." House tried to recollect his thoughts, "Aren't you worried about something eating that rabbit?"

Stephen looked over his shoulders. "No, Salem and Angel are scared to death of Usagi, and Boo could really care less. Not too mention, I think Usagi could take Mari in a fight. And Sway wouldn't hurt a single animal in the apartment." House's head was reeling. He had no clue who was who. With acception of Usagi, because he remembered usagi meant rabbit in Japanese. Other than that, he was at a loss.

Allison seemed to catch onto his complete and utter confusion because she put an arm around her boyfriend and supplied him with information, "Black cat's Salem, white is Angel, calico is Boo. Usagi's the rabbit, Mari is the daschund, and Sway is the retriever... And Kane is mine." She teased.

As House nodded, the intercom went off, it was Bryce asking to be buzzed in. Allison ran to the door and hit the button and shortly after, there was a knock at the door. "Hey big sister." Allison hugged Lolie tightly. "So, what's the news!?" She asked excitedly.

"After dinner." Lolie rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to ruffle Allison's hair.

Again, dazed, House realized just how childish Allison became around her family. She seemed to turn back into "babysister" mode when she was surrounded by these people, but she seemed to keep a protective air around Morgan. With a shake of his head, everybody sat at the dining room table.

Stephen set the pot of soup on the center of the table, along with an already sliced loaf of bread. Everybody ladled their soup and when they were done, House noticed something he'd noticed at Thanksgiving. Lolie put all of her ham into Bryce's bowel, and he put all of his carrots in hers, and Allison put all of her onions in Morgan's. House now had officially dubbed it, the entree shuffle.

"Bryce, I thought you didn't eat pork." House pointed out, watching the second oldest brother take a spoonful of soup.

"I make an acception for this alone." Bryce said, taking a mouthful of his dinner around the smirk on his lips. Lolie reached for a slice of bread.

"Ste was the only one who ever got the recipe right. It was our mom's." Allison explained. After dinner, everybody went to the living room where gifts were finally exchanged. "Allright! So, what's all of the news everybody seems so compelled to keep to themselves!?"

Bryce and Lolie looked at each other, grins spreading over their faces. "We're pregnant." Lolie told them, excitement in her voice.

Allison stood up quickly, "I knew it!" She swiftly enveloped her sister-in-law in a large hug before doing the same to her brother, "Congratulations!" Allison beamed, "When's your due date?"

"August first." Lolie was beaming excitedly. "And what about you Ste? You said that you and Morgan had some good news."

"Ah, well," Stephen was blushing slightly, "It's not as great as yours, but we're getting a house."

"Oh, well, I'm sure the dogs would appreciate a yard." Bryce laughed.

Morgan nodded, "Well, there's this bengal tiger at the hospital and Ste wants to bring it home next- Oof!"

"That was a joke." Stephen gritted his teeth, withdrawing his elbow from Morgan's gut. "I swear that there is no tiger." Everybody laughed a little.

"Yeah, like we could afford a tiger with how much you need to feed your 615 pound spouse." Morgan glared.

"Yes, remind me to rent a "Wide Load" sign for when we move." Stephen teased, running a finger down Morgan's cheek.

House felt lost once again.

"Joke from when they first started dating." Allison whispered. "Ste accidentally inverted the numbers in Morgan's weight, it's been a gag ever since."

House still felt lost, but quickly distracted himself with unwrapping the present that Bryce had just set in his lap. With a slight bit of surprise, House unwrapped it to find that it was two separate things inside. One was a book, and the other was a portable DVD player.

House opened the book first, curious, because it didn't have title. A wide grin spread over his face. "Aww." He said.

Allison looked at her boyfriend curiously.

"How interesting." He said, tilting so she couldn't see what he was reading.

Curiosity peaked, Allison began trying to look inside the book, but House kept turning away. "What are you-" She jumped, almost on top of him, and gaped for a moment before glaring at Bryce and Lolie, as well as Ste, because she _knew_ he had to have been in on it too.

All three shrugged, "We thought he should get to know you." Bryce said as they all shrugged.

House was grinning at the pictures inside the book. There was one with a grinning Allison, not much older than four holding up a bleeding elbow, with what looked like a heap of a bicycle smashed into a mail box behind her. Another showed Allison in a tangle of limbs with her brothers all wrestling on the floor, none of them older than ten. There was one of Allison going to a school dance by herself, and one of her with black hair, then green hair, then red hair, and blonde, all from high school. There was one of Allison, Bryce, Stephen, and Lolie, all grinning at the camera on a bright afternoon, all of them probably in their early to mid twenties. There was a picture of Allison and a brunette girl he didn't know, they had their arms around each other's shoulders and were grinning, wearing identical green shirts. Actually, the brunette was in quite a few pictures.

"Wow." House looked up and saw Allison sulking. "What?" He asked, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"I was young and stupid."

"I think you were adorable." House countered, planting a kiss on the top of her head.

"Ha." Allison leered at him, "I wish I could con your mom into giving me pictures of you as a kid."

"Never happen." House shook his head.

"Why do you say that?" Allison thought he was challenging her.

"Because the camera hadn't been invented by the time I was a kid." House told her, but grunted when she elbowed him in the ribs. He realized now that she must have developed that habit from Stephen.

"You're not old!" She hissed.

House pulled Allison's legs into his lap. "Hmm," he propped the photo album on her legs, "when was that one taken?" He asked, pointing to a picture of Allison, she was wearing a black dress, her hair was short, spiked and black, and she looked almost... _Goth_.

Lolie leaned forward and looked, "That's from her Junior prom." She laughed a little.

"You were goth?" House quirked an eyebrow.

"I wasn't goth-"

"No, she was every genre of music you could piece together. What, two weeks later? She had a bright blue faux-hawk." Stephen rolled his eyes. "She spent, probably, an entire paycheck on hairdye alone."

Morgan shrugged, "I met her when she was passed those phases." He laughed.

"High school Allison was definitely a completely different person." Bryce nodded, "If you knew how many parties we had to pick her up at."

"Hey, at least I called rather than trying to drive home." Allison sneered at her brother.

"True."

"Oh, wait, here's an interesting one!" House turned the book at an angle. "You were in the high school band?" He laughed.

"Clarinet." She pointed to herself, getting less annoyed, and more amused. "That's a pep band game." She told him, and House realized that the blur at the bottom of the picture was a basketball player running the length of the court. He saw that Allison was wearing a blue shirt and jeans, along with white and blue tinsel flying from her hair, and paint on her face. "It was spirit week." She explained, blushing.

House laughed, flipping a page. It was now a picture of Allison lying on a green lawn, a book that she was reading, forgotten as she looked up at the camera, smiling. He could see one of the campus buildings from her college in the background. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a long sweater. He could tell from the leaves on the tree that it was late fall.

"Why aren't there any of your wedding in here?" House asked after he'd quickly flipped through everything.

All eyes turned to Allison, "Uh..." Allison looked down for a moment then at House, "They didn't know I was married until after... After he died." She took a deep breath.

"Oh." House felt awkward. He thought that Allison was so close to her brothers that they would have been at her wedding, even if it had been a small one. "Is this your wedding, Lolie?" House decided to veer a little from the topic, but not change it entirely.

"Yup." Lolie nodded. House could just see Allison as a bridesmaid in the corner of the photo.

A few hours later, Allison was hugging everybody at the door. "Sorry, but we have to be at work tomorrow." She pouted, hugging Stephen. "But we'll see you around April." She hugged Morgan. "At Bry and Lolie's house." She hugged Bryce. "And congratulations again." She hugged Lolie. "You better have some ultrasound photos to show me!" She waved at them all as House shook their hands. "Bye!"

"Bye." House called as well, following Allison out of the door.

When Kane had been put securely in the back seat, House looked at Allison as she got into the car. "What?" She asked, biting her lip nervously.

"I'm just surprised you hid your marriage from your family."

"I didn't hide it." Allison said as he turned on the car. "I just... Jeff died a little over a month later." She pushed her hair from her face. "And we knew it would happen soon, and I knew that if Bryce and Ste knew that..." She tried to swipe away a tear before House noticed, but he did. "I knew that they would wanna be with me, and I just wanted to be alone."

House nodded but wasn't quite sure why he had. He understood her need to be alone, but he also thought that, her brothers would have understood that too. Maybe it was because he'd never had siblings, or maybe it was because he didn't understand their family in particular, but he didn't see why she felt like she couldn't tell them.

"They wouldn't have let me be alone." Allison told him, as if knowing what he was thinking. "They wouldn't have let me deal with it by myself, because I never had before. Until that point, Bry and Ste had held my hands through everything in my life. Our parents' separation, divorce, moving out of the house, I stayed with them through my first year of college... And then..." She sighed. "I don't know, I just wanted to prove to myself that I could handle it, handle taking care of myself..."

House smiled at her, placing his hand on hers and giving it a tight squeeze. He held her hand for most of the car ride home, the radio playing softly, and flecks of snow flying passed their windows. It still amazed him how much he kept learning about her every day.

TBC

A/N- Hey! (EXCITED FACE) I have got some ideas!!!!!!!!!!-Andi! 


	28. Chapter 28

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Don't You Know What Day it is!?

A/N- I'm for warning everybody! This is an EPIC chapter. Quite a bit with the naughtiness, and you'll find out why in a bit... But yeah... EPIC!-Andi

Allison awoke to a subtle darkness in the room. If there was one thing she hated about winter, it was waking up before the sun was rising. Turning onto her side, Allison saw House still asleep on his left side, the arm he had around her slid against her skin as she moved. "Morning." She whispered in his ear, but he didn't stir. Biting her lip, Allison turned off the alarm clock, deciding to wake him herself.

"Good morning." She whispered again in his ear, letting her tongue flicker against the lobe. His hand twitched slightly against her back. Kissing his chin, Allison let her lips create a trail up his jaw line and behind his ear.

House mumbled slightly, a sign that he was slowly awakening. She nipped his jugular, then planted a kiss on it. Slowly she began covering his body with hers, until her legs were straddling his waist and she was towering over him, hands running down his chest.

"Mm." House murmured, almost entirely awake as his eyes slowly opened. He could see her dark outline above him, her long hair spilling over her shoulders, with help from the street lamp outside that was dampened by the curtains Allison had put up last month. "Morning." He slurred, running his hands along her calves.

"Morning." Allison whispered, dipping down to kiss his lips. She let her tongue sweep into his mouth, earning a little sound from his lips. As she pulled back, Allison let her hands brace her weight on either side of his head. House lay still, feeling his breath catch in his chest as she arched her back, her pelvis grinding hard against his.

"Already?" He asked, slightly amused at her early morning enthusiasm. Allison just nodded vigorously at him, a ghost of a grin in the darkness settling on her lips. Tilting his hips, House rolled them onto their sides, Allison's leg sweeping out of the way of his weight. His hand came out to push the strands of hair from her face as he kissed her.

Allison wrapped her leg around his hip, pulling him towards her as she kissed him in return. His tongue swept over the backs of her teeth and she suddenly felt self-conscious about not having brushed yet, but neither had he, so she took comfort in it.

"Mm, Greg." She murmured as he abandoned her lips for her throat, turning more of his body onto hers as he attached his mouth to her neck, biting and suckling until she rolled her hips roughly against his. His hand trailed up her side, gliding beneath the tail of her camisole and pushing it upwards until he exposed the plump swell of her breast. Allison held his head tightly to her neck as House captured a taut nipple between the webbing of his thumb and index finger. His hand slid back down to just along the line of her panties, toying with the elastic band a moment. Allison rolled her hips again, impatiently, as he slid back up her side. "Greg." She whimpered, needing the fullness of his touch.

House laughed a bit, planting another kiss on her chin. "What time is it?" He asked, covering her body with his, letting his weight pin her to the bed. The clock was just out of view for him and he didn't want to give up his vantage point to check it.

"Six thirty." She said before catching his lip with her teeth and giving it a tug as her legs wrapped around his hips.

"Mmm, you woke me up early." He tsk-ed her. "Really shouldn't give you any attention for that." He pulled away ever so slightly, but Allison grabbed his shoulders and pulled him harshly against her.

"I'll make you breakfast." Allison bargained.

"Hmm..."

She rolled her eyes, "_With_ bacon." She conceded.

"Hmm..." Allison jutted her lip outwards, her eyes going wide as she blinked up at him, dark lashes casting shadows over her face that dramatized the effect. She knew just the right angles for the puppy eyes. "I think it's too early today for sex." He said gently.

Allison gaped momentarily before she disentangled herself from him and stomped off to the bathroom. She showered alone, which was awkward to her, since she'd rarely ever done so since she started dating House. As she got out of the shower, she rubbed her head vigorously with the towel, brushed it, and clipped it up. Putting on the bra and panties she'd brought in with her, Allison stepped over to the mirror and pulled her make-up bag towards her, and started applying a little foundation.

House opened the bathroom door and saw Allison glare at him in the mirror. "I said sex." He said simply as he stood behind her. She caught his eye in the mirror and shuddered, a tingling running down her spine at his look. House placed his hands on her hips, his right sliding to cup her mons. He saw her fingers clench the sponge she applied her foundation with and smiled. "I didn't say I wasn't going to have fun with you." He ran his other palm over her ass, falling to his knees behind her.

Allison moaned as gave her cheek a squeeze with one hand and the other wove around to run over the section of her panties that covered her sex.

House's eyes flickered up to look at her face in the mirror. Her shoulders had tightened and her eyes had squeezed shut. House pulled the side of her panties up, exposing a rounded cheek. "Keep putting your make-up on. You're so sexy when you're getting ready for work." He told her as he placed a series of kisses on her ass.

Trembling, Allison opened her eyes and grabbed the foundation sponge. Her hands were beginning to tremor as she blotted her face. She found herself pausing whenever his fingers slid across her pussy, rubbing and circling the hidden areas he knew so well, whether they were visible or not. Still feeling shaky, Allison began rotating her hips to follow his administration, setting down the sponge to grab the brush powder. Curiously, Allison looked behind her in time to see and feel House run his tongue up her exposed cheek. He was staring up at her reflection in the mirror as his fingers ran all over her nether regions.

Allison looked back into the mirror, her breath was coming in harsh pants as she powdered her face. She felt his fingers sliding beneath the elastic of her panties to brush the moist lips. A soft moan issued from her lips as she grabbed her mascara. There was no way she was steady enough to use eyeliner.

House watched as she grabbed the tube of mascara and ran his free hand up her back. He waited until the brush was well away from her eyes and then raked his short finger nails down Allison's spine. It had the desired effect, as she dropped the mascara brush and arched painfully against the counter. The top of her head leaned against the mirror and he saw her panting breaths create clouds in her reflection.

Standing up, House turned Allison around and pushed her panties down. He smirked at the sight of her face, she currently only had one eye's lashes thickened with mascara, and the other was still it's normal, full self. Cupping her bottom, House lifted her until she was seated on the very edge of the sink's counter. Allison bit her lip, her thighs rubbing together as she looked at him through coy eyes. Something about the way she could look at him always made him think she was much less experienced than he knew her to be. There was always some hint of innocence in her eyes that lay beneath the hunger that he could see vividly. She licked her lips, sending all previous thoughts of her naivete out the window.

Allison bucked and arched as he slid his finger through her folds. She moaned his name and braced her toes against the edge of the counter as he twirled his finger around her clit. And she cried a little when he moved his hands from her body entirely. However, her moment of despair was washed away as House lowered his mouth to her pussy, his tongue gliding from bottom to top in a slow, painful path. Her thighs were shaking with the effort to not clamp them around his head, but her fingers still wove into his hair, holding him against her sex. Allison moaned as his tongue flickered quickly against her swollen nub, making her entire body shake and her legs jerk. She could feel herself falling quickly over the edge, she could see the glittering sparks of blood cells in her eyes as she went light headed.

When her eyes opened again, House was standing in front of her, an amused grin on his face. "Wha?" Allison slurred, feeling lazy and stupid from her climax.

"That was fun, let's do it again some time." And House turned on his heel, stripped and got in the shower.

Allison still felt dazed as she slid off the counter and onto the tiled floor of the bathroom. Pulling her panties back on, she contemplated why her boyfriend was acting so strange. Going into the kitchen, still only in her underwear, Allison raded the fridge, ready to prepare House the best breakfast she could come up with.

It was as she was flipping a pancake that House returned, freshly dressed and showered. "This morning just keeps getting better and better." He commented, sidling up behind her and running his palms up her thighs to her hips. "Beautiful girl, cooking me breakfast in her underwear? Can we serve nyotaimori style?" He teased with a low voice in her ear.

"You're not eating pancakes, bacon and eggs off of my naked body." Allison told him sweetly as if she were saying yes. "I've seen you with a scalpel, but I've also seen you with a steak knife, and that's not comforting when you're sawing into a pancake that's located over my boob." She handed him a plate, he looked at it then back at her. Allison just smirked, didn't break eye contact, and grabbed a can of Reddiwhip with which she squirted a generous amount of whip cream onto the pancakes. "Happy?" She asked.

"Almost." House leaned over his plate and planted a hard kiss on her lips. "Thank you."

Allison flushed a little bit before serving her own plate, minus the bacon.

Finishing her plate first, Allison put it in the sink and turned, leaning against the counter, at House. "What are you up to?" She finally asked, suspicion in her voice.

"What?" House asked around a mouthful of eggs.

"You're being weird today."

"Am I?" He asked. "Is there something weird about having a few variations in our trysts on holidays?" Allison's brows scrunched in confusion. "Don't you know what day it is?" He gaped, disbelievingly. She tilted her head. "Wow." House laughed a little to himself. "I didn't know women could forget Valentine's Day. And here I was making myself remember it for the last two weeks so you couldn't chew my ass out."

Allison reeled for a moment. She had completely forgotten it was Valentine's Day. Which made her think she was losing her mind, considering the entire hospital had been plastered with gigantic pink, construction paper hearts. Even the coma guy's room had been molested by the crazy nurse who was running around the hospital, cutting out pictures of fat, diapered cupids and making gigantic kiss lips and hearts to tape onto the walls. If she ever found the person who took it upon themselves to paste an obnoxiously large heart that said "I Love Dr. House" onto her clipboard, she was going to shove a stick of Elmer's Glue up their ass.

Shaking her head from her lapse in thought, Allison realized something else at that moment, "Wow."

"What?" House asked, tilting his head curiously.

"I just realized, I've never been with anyone on V-day before." She laughed at her realization.

"Really, never?" House couldn't believe that the pretty girl he'd seen in all those pictures her family had given him, hadn't managed to scrounge up a boyfriend for Valentine's Day at least once.

"Yeah." She laughed again, pushing off from the counter and swaggering over towards him. He could see the ripple of her abdominal muscles as her hips swayed. "I'm just going to have to come up with something today, won't I?" She said with a seductive leer.

----------------

House was on red alert, Wilson could tell because whenever he knocked on the door, House would jump, look at him, glare, and then go back to his video games.

"What's up with you?" Wilson asked, slumping into the chair across from House's desk. "Is Lisa threatening to remove a testicle again?"

House bit back his remark as he registered something, "Lisa now? When did old funbags earn a first name? I thought it was Dr. Cuddy to you." Wilson flushed slightly. "Awww, is li'l Jimmykins developing a crush on the most holy of all fuck days?"

"Fuck day?" Wilson quirked an eyebrow.

With a roll of his eyes, House pointed to the calendar. "February 14? Ring a bell?"

"But... Fuck day?" His friend repeated weakly.

"It's internationally recognized as such." House nodded as if it were a proven fact known all over the world, and Wilson just hadn't heard about it yet.

Wilson sighed. "What are you and Allison doing today?" He tried to change the subject.

"Fucking."

"House."

"And I got us reservations after work at a restaurant she's been eyeing for the last month. She saw an add for it in the newspaper, so I figured we could take the train into New York City and make an evening of it." House conceded that he could be sweet after all. "And, I've got a few surprises for her too."

Wilson felt the corner of his mouth twitch with a smile. It was great to see his friend was finally happy. "When are you going to show me that photo album her family gave you?"

"Not sure if you'll ever see it." House teased. "Allison threatened to stop making me food if I showed anyone."

Wilson smiled a little wider.

"Now, you and Cuddy..." House began, leaning deeply into his chair. "That seems rather intriguing."

Wilson flushed a little. "Don't worry about it, House."

House shrugged, he could lay in wait, he'd perfected it over the last few months, and it let his scheming become not only more effective, but also less likely to backfire... Plus, now he had Allison to help him in his acts of chaos.

--------------------

Allison strolled into her lover's office. "And where have you been, my bad little girl?" House asked as he watched her shimmy towards his desk.

"Thinking of what I could do for you for Valentine's Day." She put on a cute, not so apologetic pout. "So I drove home really quick."

"And did what? Light a bunch of candles for when we get home? Not smart, kitten, you'll burn down my apartment next."

Allison leered at him, a sexy smile itching her lips. Slowly, her hands rose to the buttons on top of her blouse and began undoing them. House glanced out of the corner of his eyes. Chase and Foreman were nowhere to be seen, and he could see no one in the halls, but Allison was being very dangerous.

"Ally-"

But she tossed her blouse at him and he was distracted now by her dark red, satiny bra that had a delicate black lace fringe. House groaned as she bent down to put her elbows on his desk, causing a nice visual effect of deep, lush cleavage. His tongue flickered out to wet his suddenly dry lips. Allison hooked her foot around a nearby chair and tugged it towards the desk so that she could stand on it.

Suddenly her knees were on top of his desk as well and she was crawling over the desk top until her hands grasped either arm of his chair, caging him effectively. His dick was straining against his jeans already, he was almost panting, and she had her mouth just a mere centimeter from his lips.

"Ally." He breathed, breaking the little barrier of atmosphere between them and crushing his lips to hers. Allison crawled off the desk and into his lap, her skirt hiking up to give her thighs room to separate around his hips. House cupped her ass, grinding her against his growing erection, but she slid from his grasp in a fluid motion and fell to the floor on her knees. "What are you- AH!" He choked on a sudden intake of breath as she ran her hand against the bulge in his pants, reaching for the zipper.

No sooner had she released his erection, she heard him hiss in surprise and worry, "Chase!"

Allison craned her neck and saw her Australian co-worker walking a beeline to House's office. Crawling beneath the desk, Allison pulled the chair on the other side to hide her from view. Hopefully, Chase wouldn't get a side view of the elevated base, or else he would see her kneeling, topless, underneath her boyfriend's table. House quickly shoved Allison's blouse out of view right as Chase entered his office.

"House, I have something I need to talk to you about..." Chase began.

Allison bit her lip nervously from her hiding spot. She was pissed off that Chase had ruined her whole seduction routine, but as she looked in front of her, she saw that her effect was still present as she took in the sight of House's still hardened cock. A naughty thought came to Allison's mind.

"You see I've-"

THUD

Tears sprang to House's eyes, and Chase looked at him oddly. "S-sorry, hit m-my knee on the desk." House choked out. He could feel Allison's lips enveloping the head of his cock and part of him wanted to strangle her, while another part knew that he would have done the same thing to her in this type of predicament.

"Anyway..." Chase began his speech once again, but his words were a muffled buzz in House's ears as Allison stroked and sucked him beneath his desk.

Allison was working as quietly as she could, but she had to fight back a laugh when House coughed to try and cover a moan.

Ten minutes later, House could feel his face getting hot and an artery pulsing heavily in his neck as he resisted the urge to pant. Why the hell was Chase still talking!? Everything he felt going on underneath his desk was driving him nuts, and he was going to come any second now, and he'd be damned if he made a fool of himself in front of the wallaby!

"CHASE!" House yelled. "We'll talk about this later! I was suppose to call the dean of Johns Hopkins five minutes ago!"

Chase stammered, but nodded. Standing up, Chase gave one more look at his frustrated looking boss, who was picking up the phone, before leaving House's office and hurrying down the hallway.

Letting his head thud to the desk, House let out a soft moan, "Fuck, Ally, I'm gonna come _now_." He finally panted.

Allison tightened her grip on him and hastened her movements. She felt House pulling back in his chair and crawled with him, never ceasing her actions. Looking up she saw House look at her before he came with a cry that died in the back of his throat.

His cock pulsed and flinched in her clasped hands, his eyes were squeezed shut and she could see him fighting to regain his breath. "If... you... _ever_... do that... again... I... I... _will_... make you ... pay..." He finally gasped out, eyes opening slightly.

Allison licked her lips innocently and saw a glazed look pass over her boyfriend's eyes. Standing up, she leaned over him and grabbed her blouse. Putting it on, she walked with a new shimmy in her hips as she made her way to the door. A moment before she reached the threshold, she turned and said with a cocky tone, "Happy Valentine's Day." And walked out.

-----------------

House was ready for payback.

He hunted down Allison, finding her walking down the clinic halls between exam rooms. Grabbing her around the wrist, House hauled her into an empty supply closet.

"Think you're pretty funny, don't you?" He hissed, pinning her against one of the metal shelves, knocking over a stack of gauze and bandages. Allison's eyes widened in the darkness of the closet, but he could see the glassy reflection of light from the cracks in the door. "Thought it would be cute maybe? To see me lose it in front of my subordinate?"

Allison stammered and shook her head. She had no clue Chase was going to walk in, and damn it! She knew damn well he would do the same to her if given the opportunity! However, she didn't realize he would be this mad!

"Now," House's hand trailed down her shoulder, grazing the side of her breast before resting on her hip, "what can I do to get you back?" He asked her.

Allison stammered again.

"Shh. I have an idea." He let his hand slide down a bit further, hooking on the hem of her skirt. His hand slid between her thighs, and he could feel the same smooth texture on her panties that her bra had been made of. "A matching set?" He teased, rubbing her carefully, the silky, satin texture caressing her sensitive flesh.

"Greg." She moaned softly, rolling her hips with his stroking fingers.

"That's it, Ally, get nice and wet for me." He whispered, flicking his tongue against her earlobe before attaching himself to her neck and sucking hard. Allison wrapped her leg over his hip, rolling against him as her head lolled back against the shelves. "Come on, baby, you can get hotter than that." He murmured against her throat before giving it a hard suck.

Allison stifled her cry against the side of his head, her eyes watering slightly as she pushed his head harder against her neck and bucked her hips. His fingers hadn't even breached the fabric of her panties and she was already so close.

"Greg." She whimpered, and she felt his finger push up into her slit, still on the other side of the satin material. "Please..."

House slipped his middle finger around her panties, capturing her clit in a circular motion. Not a moment later, Allison's body went rigid and shook as she choked on a cry of ecstasy.

CLICK

"Woah! Sorry... Uh... Happy V-day you two!"

CLICK

Foreman's voice was not hard to recognize for either of them, and their eyes widened as they locked eyes with one another in the darkness.

"Oh, fuck it." House smashed his mouth to Allison's, making her moan despite her embarrassment.

It took a moment for Allison to realize that her panties were sliding down her hips, and when House broke the connection and knelt down, she almost fell over when he tugged her foot upward. Soon, House was standing with her panties in his hands.

"Greg! I-"

"This is my compensation for that stunt you pulled." He smirked, stuffing the red, santin panties in his pocket. Allison stuttered for some excuse. "Just make sure you don't bend over today." He teased before walking to the door. "And, Happy Valentine's Day to you too." And he left.

----------------

Foreman walked into the department, still trying not to focus on what he'd just seen. He could have handled walking in on House _kissing_ Cameron, but seeing what he'd just seen was just too much! A stolen kiss here and there was manageable, but seeing House with his hand up one of his colleagues' skirts was enough to make him shudder.

_Then again, Cameron's hot, so I guess the view wasn't too bad._ Foreman thought with a slight smirk. He hadn't meant to say anything to them, only shut the door and leave, but considering he knew they'd be worried about who walked in on them, he decided to at least assure them it was only him.

Foreman sighed, leaning his head onto his palms. There was no way he was going to be able to look at either of them for the rest of the day.

---------------

Allison walked down to the nurse's station in the clinic, her brow furrowed. Every single staff member she passed gave her a wicked look, like they somehow _knew_ what she'd just done with House in the supply closet.

"Good V-day this year, Dr. Cameron?" One of the nurses, Stacey, asked with a malicious smile.

Allison's brow furrowed deeper and she even went so far as to check her blouse and skirt for ruffling or some kind of indication. No, her skirt was straitened, and she wasn't flashing anyone. Her blouse was just as immaculate as ever, maybe with a few extra creases from the peep show she'd given House in his office.

She saw Chase walking down another corridor and picked up her pace, calling after him. "Chase!" Allison waved at him and he turned, his eyes going wide. "Why is everyone looking at me like I just fucked someone in the middle of the lobby!?" She hissed to her co-worker when she was close enough for no one too hear but Chase.

"Well..." Chase was tilting his head, trying to contain his laughter. "It could have something to do with the giant hickey on your neck."

Allison's face turned six shades of red, enough to envy any of the construction paper hearts in the entire hospital. Quickly, her hand flew up to cover the spot House had been working on in the closet, and she tried to walk as calmly as possible to the ladies room. When she got there she looked in the mirror and almost screamed. No amount of ice she put on it now was going to take down the discoloration and swelling of her throat now!

Worst yet, she didn't bring make-up with her to work. Only a tube of chap stick and a bit of powder.

"Shit." She cursed.

Allison stomped up to House's office and slammed her clipboard, which still had bits of pasted "I Love Dr. House" heart on the back of it, on to House's desk. "You did this on purpose!" She yelled, pointing furiously at her neck.

"Yup." House didn't even glance up at her from his GBA.

"But..." Her lip quivered slightly. "How am I suppose to see patients?" She asked.

"Ally, we're dead today. No one gets injured on Valentine's Day except for people who take too much Viagra, diabetics who try and eat candy, and a few rose thorn impalements." House soothed. "Now, go home, put some ice on it, cover it with some make-up and get ready for dinner."

"Dinner?" Allison looked at him.

"Yeah, we have dinner reservations at 8 tonight." House was still completely enthralled with his game as he spoke.

"R-really?" She felt bad about embarrassing him in front of Chase now. "Where?"

"You know that restaurant in New York you were pointing out in the newspaper for God knows how long?"

"You didn't!"

"I did. And you better look respectable." He said, letting her see the slight smile in his eyes over the top of the Gameboy.

Allison tried to think of what she was going to wear. She couldn't wear her chiffon dress again... Allison thought hard.

House glanced up from his video game, "I know that look..." House became thoughtful as he clicked the game shut. "That's the -I want to go shopping- look." He accused.

Allison blushed a little, she didn't think he knew that particular look, but apparently he had caught onto it. She sighed, feeling trapped.

House stood up and reached into his back pocket with a sigh. He pulled out his wallet and found his credit card he knew she couldn't possibly max out. "Here, go buy yourself a dress." He said handing her the card and leaning over the desk to snag the kiss she was offering him.

"Thank you, Greg!" She squealed, not just going so far as to give him a kiss, but also half jump over his desk and wrap her arms over his neck. She was completely oblivious to the fact that Foreman was just on the other side of the glass wall to the department. "I love you!" She gave him at least five kisses all over his face, but House couldn't keep count because they were landing left and right.

Foreman looked about ready to pass out if he encountered yet another co-worker tryst within the hour, so House gently pushed her away and shooed her out of the office.

------------------

Allison hailed a cab excitedly and went on her hunt for an evening gown. She called Colin on her cell, feeling slightly guilty because it had been so long since she had called him. Shortly after her apartment had burned down, she had lost contact with him, mainly because they were no longer living so close to each other.

"Hey, Colin. I'm going shopping, want to meet me up?" She listened for a moment, "An evening dress, Greg's taking me into New York for dinner tonight. Yeah, we'll have to be done by five so you don't have to worry about me ruining your plans." She laughed. "Okay, I'll meet you there in twenty." Allison agreed and hung up.

Upon arriving at the designated meeting place, Allison paid the driver and hopped out, seeing Colin already waiting for her, "Hey, Ally, I thought you hated me." Colin teased, giving her a hug. "Don't talk for ages and then all the sudden you want me to help you pick out a dress? You're just using me for my great taste, aren't you?"

Allison laughed and they began their perusing of the store's wares.

"Nice hickey, by the way."

"Shut the fuck up."

TBC

A/N- Yeah, the chapter was getting pretty damn long, so I decided that the Valentine's Day thing was gonna have to be a two parter! 'Cause I'm almost up to 20 pages for this chapter alone, and that's just asking for trouble! LoL, anyway, REVIEW DAMN IT!-Andi 


	29. Chapter 29

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Dessert or Dinner First?

A/N- Just want to give a quick shout out to one of my readers! Julian! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic, and trust me, your English is beautiful. I wish I could respond to you in Greek, but my grasp of the language consists entirely of root words and medical terminology! But I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as the last!-Andi

Allison checked herself in the mirror again, making sure that she had hidden the hickey completely before she proceeded with the rest of her make-up. Satisfied that it would not peak through the layers of blended foundation, concealer, and other miscellaneous cover ups, Allison proceeded to put on the rest of her make-up.

She heard the apartment door slam as House came home from work. "You back?" He called down the dark hallway.

"Yeah, I'm getting ready." Allison called back from the bathroom.

House came into the bedroom and leaned in the bathroom's doorframe that connected to their room. "Already?" He asked.

"Well," she turned and glared at him, "I had to get an early start because someone decided to brand me." She gestured to the vanished hickey.

"You look beautiful." House pushed off from the doorframe and leaned his cane against the bathroom counter. He fingered her robe which hid whatever may or may not be underneath the thin fabric. "Mind if I have a sneak peak?" He teased, giving the opening a slight tug. Allison smacked his hand. "OW!"

"Our reservation is at eight." Allison reminded him, "Plus it's Valentine's Day, so we're going to have one hell of a time parking let alone getting there."

House sighed, though he agreed with her, he didn't want to admit that she had a point. "Right, right." He rolled his eyes. "Where's your dress?" He asked, glancing back and looking around the bedroom.

"Hanging up." She replied, now using her foundation for its original purpose on her face. "And I bought a suit for you. That grey one is not gonna cut it tonight, mister." She gave him a cheeky smile.

House grunted and saw the suit she'd bought him, lying on the bed. Kane was staring at it with annoyance, more than likely having already been scolded for jumping up near it. With another eye roll, House left to go catch some quality Tv time before he was forced to get ready.

Allison looked at her reflection, trying to figure out how exactly she wanted to get her make-up to look. The last thing she needed was black smudges all over her face because she couldn't get her eyeliner right the first time. Sighing, the woman went to work, carefully applying her mascara and eyeliner so as not to have to fix it.

---------------------

House was sitting, waiting, watching tv, anticipating the moment when Allison would start yelling for him to get dressed for dinner. He could hear her in the bathroom still, and part of him wanted to try and sneak into the closet just to see what her dress looked like. However, he was well aware of Allison's ability to know when he was up to something, so he didn't even try and figure out a way of getting passed her. He'd just have to do his least favorite thing in the world, wait.

--------------------

"Greg!" Allison called, "Greg, start getting dressed, I'm almost done with my hair!" She heard House grumble his way into the bedroom, and glanced at him around the doorframe to see him looking at the suit she'd gotten him.

"Ally," he whined when he got to the tie, "the knot keeps twisting."

Allison sighed and set down her hair curler, and looked at him with a slight giggle before coming to his rescue. Soon she'd straitened his tie, and the knot was resting properly in place. House looked in the mirror and rolled his eyes. He'd never understand why women could figure the damn things out and he couldn't.

"How much longer are you going to be?" House asked, tying his dress shoes.

Allison took her hair into account. "Another fifteen minutes." She finally replied, spritzing her hair with more spray. "Go watch Tv, I'll be out in a bit." She promised, leaning out the door frame and giving him a quick kiss. "And thank you for the credit card. I _swear_ I didn't go crazy. It's on the night stand." And with that, she disappeared back into the bathroom.

House laughed as he turned and grabbed his credit card, shoving it back into his wallet before leaving for the living room. Part of him wanted to not close the door all the way and spy on her getting dressed, but, again, he knew she'd suspect that.

With a slightly annoyed sigh, House flopped back onto the couch, and watched Animal Planet as he waited once again.

He didn't have to wait long. Soon Allison was coming out of the bedroom, a long coat to protect her body from the cold, covering her dress. She was placing her earrings in when she reached the front door.

"Where are you going?" House asked as she finished putting in her earrings and reached for her purse.

"Um... To dinner?" Allison tilted her head.

"But I want to see what you're wearing." House pouted, turning off the Tv and walking over to her.

Allison rolled her eyes, "You'll see it at the restaurant." She pointed out.

"Ah, but what if I wanted to see how beautiful you are before everyone else?" He reached out and ran his finger over her cheek, tucking a stay lock of curls behind her ear.

Allison blushed, he could still surprise her with those little comments that made her feel a heat in her stomach, like drinking a fiery whisky. Slowly she undid her coat, letting slide down to her wrists, where it hooked.

A moment passed and House's jaw hung open. "Wow." He finally uttered as he took in the sight of her.

Her dress was a long, red flowing number, the hem trailing to a sudden end just above her knees, but that wasn't what made his jaw flop open. The neckline plummeted between her breasts, stopping just where the sternum ended. The necklace he'd given her for Christmas was nestled safely in the space between her collar bones. In the middle of the dramatic dip of the neckline was a silver bar, clasping the two edges between her breasts before opening once more to expose the skin of the remaining cut of the fabric.

Unable to speak, House twirled his finger to signal her to give him a spin. Allison turned her back to him, a small smile toying at the corners of her mouth. The back was almost completely bare, save the tie around her neck that held up the front and where the dress met all the way around her hips. The deep, crimson fabric clung to her like a glove, accenting every curve and tempting him to skip dinner and dive right into dessert!

"Beautiful?" Allison teased, turning to face him and pulling her coat back on.

House shook his head, "Beyond beautiful. Sultry, gorgeous, awe inspiring." He murmured, leaning in and kissing her freshly painted lips. Allison blushed, "We should get going." He whispered against her mouth.

Nodding, Allison grabbed her purse and they went to the car. It was a long drive when he considered the fact that he had a beautiful woman sitting right beside him, knowing what lay beneath the coat she wore, and what probably _didn't_ lie beneath the dress. He knew for a fact she couldn't be wearing a bra, which made him anticipate undressing her even more. His hand slid from the steering wheel and rested on her thigh. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, House saw her smile before placing her hand over his. He gave her leg a squeeze as they made it into New York, and soon into the city.

The valet took their car and the two walked into the restaurant. House could see the excitement on her face at actually getting a table for Valentine's Day. Pulling out Allison's seat for her, House felt like he was being a cliched example of chivalry, but he quickly realized that Allison was enjoying it, so he didn't mind.

They were left their menues and a waiter came to get their drink orders.

Allison was on the edge of her seat the whole time they ordered their drinks, when they ordered their food, and when House asked for the wine menu and ordered a bottle of Merlot to go with their dinners. It was somewhere between finishing their meal and their plates being cleared that Allison noticed that only one of House's hands was on the table. Trying to act as if she hadn't noticed, Allison let her eyes slowly drift from the lone hand to the flowers off to the side of the center of the table as House paid the check.

He had something in the missing hand, and despite Allison's wishes for it to be a certain something, she knew it wouldn't be a proposal coming from his lips. House may be acting like a hopeless romantic today, but she knew him all too well than to be as cliche as proposing on Valentine's Day. It was unoriginal, uninspired, and completely un-House.

"Ally," she saw House take a deep breath and realized she'd been holding hers, "hold out your hand and close your eyes." He whispered so low that she could barely hear his deep voice.

Allison gulped, he hadn't specified which hand. Shaking slightly, Allison held out her right. Assuming was not something your did with Gregory House and holding out her left would be way too presumptuous.

Closing her eyes, Allison waited, jumping slightly at the next words.

"That's my girl." He murmured, taking her right hand and placing a kiss on it. She felt cool metal encircle his wrist, "Not today." He said. "Open your eyes."

Allison opened her eyes and looked at the bracelet around her wrist. It was platinum like the necklace he'd given her, and the diamonds around it alternated between oval and circler shapes. It accented the necklace she had around her neck perfectly. "Greg." She could only bring herself to whisper. "It's beautiful..." She tried not to cry. With all the mascara she was wearing she'd look like a zebra if she cried.

"Are you ready to go?" He asked softly, smiling at Allison's quick, jerking nod. When they stood together, Allison enveloped him in a tight hug. "I love you." He said quietly in her ear.

"I love you too." She answered in a tight voice, a break catching in her throat.

They went to collect their coats, their hands clasped tightly together until they had to break away to put their coats on. When they waited for the valet to come over with their car, Allison turned to House, her arms raising to encircle his neck as his went about her waist, "Thank you for the best Valentine's Day I've ever had." She murmured before her lips brushed against his. Fire seemed to spring between their mouths as they fused together. A heat washed over her body, and she didn't even notice the valet standing somewhat amused and embarrassed with their car as she intensified the kiss.

The valet cleared his throat politely, his own face reddening a little. Allison managed to look a little flustered, despite her annoyance at being interrupted. "Greg," she said as they got in the car, "I can't make it home." The tone of her voice was husky and didn't hide her intentions at all.

"I guess we'll just have to drive a little faster then." He smirked at her. "Don't worry, I know my short cuts."

Allison barely remembered the ride home, only watching House the whole time. But when he pulled up in front of their apartment building and parked, Allison lunged. Capturing his mouth in a heated kiss, Allison could hardly pull away. Climbing into the driver's seat with him she felt House's arm brace behind her back as she kissed and nipped his lips.

"Ally... We're five ... feet away." He managed to get in between kisses.

Allison pulled away slightly, pouting. She opened the door and crawled off of his lap. Taking his hand, Allison tugged him impatiently towards the door.

"Ally, calm down." House said, even as he pinned her against the wall of the elevator. His mouth went to her neck, and he could taste the make-up that was hiding the hickey he'd given her earlier. Opting to choose the make-up free side of her neck, House pulled her leg over his hip as he ground against her, nipping and suckling the fresh skin of her throat.

Her fingers flew to the front of his shirt, undoing buttons and fumbling with impatience. "Ahn... Greg..." She whimpered when she felt his erection press up against her. The elevator dinged and both stumbled out of the lift, torn between not wanting to take their hands from each other and making it quickly back to the apartment. House barely managed to get the door open as Allison clung to him, hands roaming all over his body needfully.

The door swung open and the lovers made a procession to the bedroom as Allison pulled his suit jacket aside and let it fall to the floor. When the bedroom door opened, Kane gave a slight grunt of annoyance before her wagging tail passed by them and out to the living room.

Allison grabbed both ends of the undone tie around House's neck and pulled him on top of her on the bed. He searched blindly for the lamp switch so he could see Allison as he undressed her body. When it clicked on, and a flickering of the bulb flared into life, House pulled back, panting to look down at her shivering body. Her hands still clasped his tie, beckoning him back to her lips, hunger in her eyes like she'd been denied all day.

"Greg," she whispered huskily against his lips before moving her mouth towards his ear, "give me a minute." She murmured against his ear, that was so close to her mouth now that she couldn't resist giving the lobe a hard nip.

House grunted, not wanting to release her from his hold, but complied despite his want to keep her close. Flopping onto his back, he let Allison get up and saw her nearly run into the bathroom, barely caring to keep the front of her dress up.

One day House was going to have to ask Allison why women always ran off to put on different clothes. He'd almost gotten her out of the ones she was already wearing, and now she was going to put something completely different on? He sighed, but didn't have to wait long before Allison opened the bathroom door. The lamplight gave him the perfect amount of illumination to fully appreciate what she was wearing.

It was a black lace bustier that extended downward to just past her hips, barely covering the tops of her legs. The material was so sheer, he could see the sexy little thong trying to camouflage itself in the black lace. Red, blooming roses were stitched in over sections of the bustier, tattooing the skin beneath.

House rose from the bed, whipping the undone tie from his neck. Allison licked her lips in anticipation as he approached. His hands extended towards her, his palms running down her sides, causing the material to slide against her skin as well. "Ally, you're so beautiful tonight." He murmured before capturing her lips again. Allison leaned against him, pushing him towards the bed, where they toppled once again.

Allison straddled his waist, her hips circling and rolling against the hard bulge she felt pressing up against her core. Her fingers made quick work of the remaining buttons of his dress shirt before letting him sit up and toss it aside before she pulled the white undershirt off as well, letting it pile where quite a few of their clothes had. House flopped back against the mattress, his hands clasping around her hips, pressing her down harder against him.

Letting her hands slide up her body, Allison cupped her breasts as she rocked against House. "Mmm, Greg," she moaned, "wanna feel you inside me." Her words were a hiss in the lamp lit room.

House reached between their gyrating hips and undid his fly, but couldn't resist turning his palm up and rubbing his fingers against her. Through the flimsy fabric of her almost non-existant panties, he could feel the wetness already pooling. She was always so ready for him.

Pushing his pants down his legs a little, House placed his hands back on her hips and prevented her from driving down on his cock. Instead, he slowly lowered her hips and slid his length against the fabric separating his and her bodies from contact.

"Ohh, uhn, Greg, don't tease me like that." She moaned, reaching between them to push the material aside. Still, House wouldn't let her slide down his length. He continued his torturous actions, feeling her juices coat the head of his member. Biting his lip, House thrust upwards, ending the torments at last.

Crying out, Allison froze momentarily, capturing her bottom lip under her teeth. She let her palms fall after a second, to rest on his chest. Changing her angle, she lowered her body closer to his, hands sliding up his chest and resting on either side of his head. A rumbling growl shook House's chest as she pushed herself down on his cock, hips rocking in time with her thrusts.

Tilting his chin upwards, House captured her lips with his. Their lips smashed together as she hurried their movements, unable to restrain herself. Before she could feel her orgasm building it enveloped her completely, making her tear her lips from his as she cried out. House placed his hands on her hips, keeping her movements going as she constricted around his cock like a vice. Teeth gritting, he tumbled over the edge, right behind her.

Collapsing atop her lover, Allison panted and sighed against his shoulder. "Mmm, Happy Valentine's Day." She murmured before falling asleep in his arms.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Ally." He murmured against her hair before following her into sleep.

TBC

A/N- WOOT! Another chapter done! Sorry bout the delays lately, we've been getting hit with storm after storm over here and we even lost power not too long ago! I was so sad! I missed writing for you guys:'( Well, have a great week, I hope to get a lot of JUICY reviews!!!!!!!!:D -Andi 


	30. Chapter 30 WOOT 30!

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Thirty: I See Your Game

A/N- Shout out to WhoKMH- Love your reviews (always so insightful, and not always focused on the smut, gracias.) Hope you continue enjoying the fic!-Andi

Waking up, Allison found herself still curled against House. The lace pattern of her bustier had left an imprint in his skin that made her laugh a little to herself. Crawling out of the bed, Allison went to the bathroom to take off the tight clothing. Blanching, Allison felt the fabric stick to the residue adhesive of the bra she'd worn the night before. In her hurry the night before, to return to House in bed, she had yanked the backless, strapless bra off recklessly, leaving her skin red and tender, with speckles of adhesive blotting her skin.

Stepping into the shower, Allison washed away the sticky patches under her breasts away. No sooner had she gone to washing the rest of her body, the shower curtain drew back slightly and House stepped in with her. "Getting the morning started with out me?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her dripping waist. "You know I'm hopeless by myself. I don't even know if I can bathe myself anymore." He teased. "Can't pick out a suit, can't cook, it's amazing I've managed to survive all these years." Giving her bottom lip a gentle nip, House ducked his head under the spray of water.

With a slight laugh, Allison wrapped her arms around his neck. She loved every morning she had with him.

-----------------

Allison was walking down a hall in PPTH that afternoon, contemplating what to do with the rest of her day. Boredom was settling in, the whole department needed something to stir it up for a change. The past month was one big blur of coffee, crosswords, and in Allison and House's case, sex. But Allison began to think, as she stepped into an elevator, what they really needed was a challenge or an abrupt shift in power, or SOMETHING!

As Allison stood, the elevator doors closing, she realized something very important as a hand thrust forward to stop the doors from closing. You _really_ should be careful what you wish for.

--------------------

House was balancing a pencil on his upper lip when Cuddy came into his office. "House, I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner, but I was afraid that if you found out you'd flip out or do something you'd regret, but I couldn't not tell you, because I know you'd never forgive me if I didn't, and now I'm stuck telling you even at this very moment when they're on their way up-"

The pencil had dropped from House's mouth as he listened to Lisa Cuddy babble on. It wasn't like her to babble, she was normally sharp and too the point, but the person that he could see walking towards his office, Allison in tow, explained right away what had Lisa a nervous wreck.

The office door to House's enclosure opened and a woman stepped in with a not to happy looking Allison behind her. Standing, House made all effort not limp as he walked towards the dark haired woman, "Stacey." He said curtly with a jerky nod towards her.

Stacey stared at him a moment, almost too shocked to say anything. He was walking without his cane, and pretty well too! Wondering what had caused his turn around, when doctors had said he'd probably suffer from pain the rest of his life, Stacey couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Your husband refusing to see a doctor again?" House asked dryly.

Stacey shook her head, then looked at Cuddy and Allison. "Could I please speak to Greg alone?" She asked softly. Cuddy's eyes flickered at Allison, whose own eyes were big, round globes of fire.

Danger was in the air, and there would be a serious explosion if Cuddy didn't get Allison away from Stacey immediately. "Come on, Dr. Cameron, I need you for a consult anyway!" Lisa grabbed Allison's arm and practically dragged her out of the office and back towards the elevators. "Come on, I'll buy you a drink." Cuddy consoled her employee.

"I'm on shift."

"One won't hurt."

Allison glanced at her watch. "It's five minutes after ten AM."

"It's after noon somewhere."

--------------

"What's going on, Stacey?" House asked, walking back towards his desk.

"You're looking better than I remember. And your leg... I can't believe you can walk without your cane." Stacey sat across from him.

"Yeah, what do you need?" He sat down heavily in his desk chair.

"Wow, straight to business?" Stacey laughed, "That used to be the last thing you wanted to talk about with me."

"Things change." House picked up his Gameboy.

"Apparently not all things." She laughed as she watched him play video games.

"Stacey, either get to the point or take off. I'm one cave away from this level's boss and I am not going to get my ass kicked because you can't stay on topic." He gesticulated his movements in the game.

"Who is she?" Stacey asked.

House smirked and clicked his gameboy shut. "Ah, so insightful, yet oblivious none-the-less?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. "She was standing right next to you, glaring daggers into the back of your head, not a minute ago."

"Lisa!?" Stacey was surprised when he laughed hollowly, "Or... Dr. Cameron." She nodded in understanding. "Well, she must be happy. Not even a year ago she was sulking about how you'd never notice her." She stood up and leaned her hip against his desk, "I didn't think you liked insecure women."

"I dated you for how many years?" House lashed back, but drew his composure back together quickly, "Stacey, we've been through a lot over the years, and we've hurt each other in unmentionable ways-"

"Yes, you made me cheat on my husband, then dumped me." Stacey snapped.

House shook his head, an annoyed smirk on on his lips, "I didn't make you do anything. And I do believe that you removing half of my quadricep is a bit more extreme than infidelity."

"Well, it looks like you're recovering." Stacey pointed out hotly.

"And I didn't hear you complaining the night I had sex with you. I didn't hear you call out Mark's name instead of mine either." Then gesturing to his leg, "And I still have problems with this leg, I have a medial rotation of the femur because the remaining quad has too much tension focused in one directions. Believe me, Stacey, it still hurts." Folding his hands in front of himself House asked again, "Now, what do you want?"

------------------------

Foreman wasn't quite sure how he ended up on the ground, but he had the sinking suspicion that it had something to do with him saying something along the lines of, "Wow, Cameron, what's that look about? Did House cheat on you?" Now, of course he said this with a joking voice, but the next thing he knew he was lying on his back and Cameron and Cuddy swept past him.

Crawling back onto his feet, Foreman headed down to diagnostics, opening House's office door while still looking down the hallway at the retreating females. "Hey, House, Cameron's being- Oh, snap!" Foreman pointed at Stacey as if he were gesturing to the antichrist. Never mind that he didn't have anything personal against Stacey; she was a nice woman, but the effects she had on his boss always meant trouble.

"Foreman, why don't you go to the clinic for me?" House tossed his name tag at his fellow and gestured for him to leave.

When Foreman had walked out of the office, House looked at the envelope Stacey had thrown on his desk. "So, you came all this way to tell me that I'm being sued." House picked up the envelope and opened it. "What for this time?"

Stacey sat across from him. "She says you sexually harassed her."

House quirked an eyebrow and read the name, "If you mean sexually harassed in the sense that I sat and played Metroid in front of her for a half hour before telling her she had the clap, then yes, I sexually harassed her. If you mean I sexually harassed her in the sense that I made unwanted sexual advances on her, then no, I didn't sexually harass her."

"She says you touched her inappropriately."

House laughed, "Only person who touched her was the nurse, and I don't think Jessica would appreciate being called a lesbian, or her husband for that matter."

Stacey rubbed her eyes, "Are you telling me that I came all of this way to-"

"I'm telling you, that you came all this way to deliver a lawsuit you knew was bullshit." House told her blatantly. "Look at the date." He pointed to the plaintifs' statement. "I wasn't even here that day. I was in Pennsylvania. I saw her three days before. Which you can easily look up in our patient intake files. Or you could have just called and I could have saved you thirty bucks worth of gas." House stood up, but was unable to restrain the limp in his stride. "It won't go to trial, so you and I can maintain a phone conference about it until it's settled." He opened his office door and gestured for her to leave. "Nice seeing you, Stacey."

"Sorry, House, but I need to stick around town for a while, you're not getting rid of me that easily." She walked through the door, but paused, "And this _will_ go to trial."

"Only if you plan on fabricating evidence." And he closed the door.

--------------------------

House was in a bad mood. Everyone in the hospital could tell, and most knew why. Not many nurses had forgotten what Stacey looked like, so most held their breaths when they saw the woman enter and make her way towards the elevator. Quite a few gasped when they saw Stacey enter the same lift as Dr. Cameron, and a few contemplated calling House's office and warning him. But no sooner had the idea crossed their minds, they saw Lisa Cuddy running from her office and up flights of steps like hell fire was at her heels.

Now, nearly an hour later, Dr. House was storming around the lower levels of the hospital, snapping at anyone who got in his way.

His bad mood barely let him grunt an apology to a woman he'd bumped into. She stumbled slightly, but smiled nervously, "Excuse me," she said in a timid voice. "Do you know Allison Cameron? She's suppose to work here, but-"

"I don't know where she is right now. Do you need me to page her?" House interrupted her.

"Oh, umm. If it wouldn't be any trouble?" She said politely.

House looked at the woman, she looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place her. She had a dark tan and her brown hair was streaked with highlights. House shook his head, she was probably an old patient of Allison's. "Not a problem." House went to the nurse's station and paged his girlfriend.

Less than ten minutes later Allison was there, and House was surprised and not just a little confused.

"MARAH!" Allison ran to the girl and enveloped her in a tight hug. "You came early this year." She commented.

"Really? I thought it was already July." Marah teased.

House cleared his throat and Allison pulled back from her friend's embrace. "Oh, sorry, Marah, this is my boyfriend, Greg House. Greg, this is my friend Marah." Allison introduced.

House shook the woman's hand.

"We've been friends since fifth grade. She's the one I'm in all those pictures with in the photo album my brothers gave you." She explained.

"Oh no, there are photos of us?" Marah laughed. "That's a scary thought."

"So, what are you doing up here so early?" Allison asked her friend.

"My sister's getting married and asked me to come up and help with the wedding. Invitations haven't gone out yet, don't worry, you're getting one!" Marah told her. "Anyway, I thought I'd drop by and see you since I was in the general area."

"I'm so glad you did." Allison grinned. "I needed to talk to you."

"Ah." Marah glanced at Greg before smiling at her friend, "So umm." She turned more towards Allison, "Serious relationship?"

"_Very_." Allison winked.

"Glad to hear it." Marah adjusted the strap of her purse. "So, do you want to get together for lunch later? I'm not meeting Erin until tonight."

"Sure, sounds great. We'll do the girly thing." Allison grinned. "We've got a lot to catch up on!"

"All right, I'll come by around noon and we'll go to lunch." She hugged Allison and waved to House before leaving.

"So," House leaned against the nurse's station, "hiding friends from me? Is she your secret lover?"

"Yes, we get together once a year, have mad, passionate sex, and then say our goodbyes until our next encounter." Allison teased. "And no, you're not watching, or video taping."

"Ruin my fun."

"So what did Stacey want?"

House sighed, he knew that was coming. "She presented me with a lawsuit from a patient."

"Uh huh, for what?"

"Sexual harassment."

"Ghu." Allison rolled her eyes, "Lovely."

"It's bull shit and she knows it." House followed her to the elevators.

Allison turned as she pressed the call button for the lift. "No duh, Greg." She leaned against the wall next to it as they waited. "But is she leaving?"

"No."

"Exactly." The bell rang and the doors slid away. "So, what's she up to?"

House shrugged as he boarded with her. "Who knows?" He shuffled up against the wall of the lift.

Allison quirked an eyebrow and slid out the doors of the elevator right as they were snapping shut. House called out to her, but his voice was cut off by the closing of the doors.

Walking briskly to the nurse's station, Allison grabbed the phone. As the call connected and rang through she bit her lip. It wasn't like her to snoop, but she had to know something that had been nagging her since she'd had the horrible feeling that ate away at her stomach while riding up in the elevator with Stacey.

"Hello, Mr. Warner. This is Allison Cameron from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. We are having an issue with one of the cases your wife worked while she was under the hospital's employment. May I speak with Mrs. Warner?"

"She doesn't live here anymore." And he hung up without another word.

Allison's jaw clenched painfully. Part of her had expected this response, but another part had been hoping that it was just jealousy or her own self-doubt. When it came to Stacey, Allison felt like a school girl with a crush on her hot teacher, and Stacey seemed like the teacher's wife, sophisticated and self-assured.

Everything Allison thought she wasn't.

----------------

"Hey, there!" Marah appeared in the hospital again around noon to pick up her friend for lunch. "So... Oh... Ally, what's wrong?" Marah asked her friend. "I haven't seen you look like that since you got stood up by Lyle for our Sophmore Homecoming."

"I'll tell you when we're out of here." Allison said in a whisper that hid the fact that her throat was spasming with repressed cries.

"Okay, do you want to go out for ice cream instead?" Marah asked as they walked to the car. Allison nodded quickly and the two made their way to Marah's rental.

-------------------

"So what's going on?" Marah asked as they seated themselves in a small ice cream parlor that stayed open year round despite the horrific winter weather they sometimes got.

"Greg's ex is back."

"So?"

"She's coming to get Greg back, and she's using some bogus lawsuit as an excuse."

"Ah, so she serves him with a lawsuit, I would totally take her back if she was working to sue me too." Marah nodded, though her expression was dripping with sarcasm. "Come on, Ally! You're not this stupid and you know it!"

Allison licked her ice cream cone. "I know, but... They have a history-"

"History aside, he's got you, and uh, let me say, he's damn lucky." Marah barked. "Stacey's what, like, ten years older than you? Excuse me, Ally, but I think you got her beat in the 'girl he would want to end up with' category."

"He's not superficial like that." Allison pouted.

"You didn't let me finish." Marah interjected. "Listen, you're a hot, young, ridiculously intelligent woman who any guy would bend over backwards to be with. Your self-esteem has always been your downfall. Remember Mike?"

"Ghu, don't remind me." Allison groaned, "I'm already miserable without recalling old flames that were the worst decisions of my life."

"And you only made that bad decision because you were doubting yourself too much to think you deserved someone better. Greg is your something better, and the minute you might actually have to fight for him, you scurry off to the corner and hide!" Marah's expression softened, "What happened to the girl nobody wanted to fuck with 'cause they knew they'd get their ass beat? What happened to the girl that as a freshman, could make the senior guys keep from stuffing her in a locker on hazing day? Come on! Ally, you were my damn body guard in high school! You punched the captain of the wrestling team in the mouth for slapping my ass in the hallway!" Allison smiled slightly. What had happened to her confidence? She was always the first one to fight for her friends, but why was she always so quick to give up on finding someone to love and keeping them?

"You're right." Allison took a deep breath and a large bite out of her ice cream, "I'm gonna- OH BRAINFREEZE!"

------------------

The nurses at the front station were curious what demon had possessed Dr. Cameron on her lunch break. She seemed to have a fire in her eyes as she stalked around the hospital. No one even brought up the fact that Stacey Warner had come in, for fear that Dr. Cameron would over hear and potentially remove their head from its proper place on their neck.

House was just as taken aback when Allison came storming up to him in a hallway and shoved him into a closet, her mouth quickly covering his in the dark room.

"Ally, what are-"

"Mm, tell me you love me." She bit his bottom lip, hard.

"Iwuv'ou." He garbled around his captured lip.

"Good." Allison pressed her body to his, pinning him against he wall. "Stacey left Mark." House froze beneath her.

"How did you-"

"I called him and came up with a bullshit reason I needed to speak to her. He said she didn't live there anymore." Allison explained. She couldn't see his face in the din, but she was well aware of his line of thoughts.

"Did he say why?"

"No." Allison snapped, growing impatient with him. He was _suppose_ to say, _"Well, too fucking bad for her!"_ Not continue to ask questions! He was suppose to comfort her and say, that whatever Stacey had in mind it wasn't going happen. He was suppose to reassure her. He was suppose to love HER! "Greg-"

"Ally, there's a deep history here, and there's-"

"No."

"No?" House was surprised.

Allison wrapped her arms around his neck, "You're mine now." Her hand twined into the short hairs of his scalp. "And she's not getting you back." Her mouth crushed against his in a claiming kissing. House had never felt her kiss him with such a hungry possession.

Kissing her back with the same passion, House wondered idly, where this Allison had come from, and why couldn't she have appeared sooner?

TBC

A/N- Sorry for the wait, writer's block :'( It made me sad!!!!! Anyway! REVIEW!-Andi 


	31. Chapter 31

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Thirty-One: The Ultimate Showdown

Sitting with his head lying on top of his folded arms, House groaned when he woke up in front of his desk. He couldn't remember the last time he'd actually fallen asleep in front of a patient file. Deciding it would probably be a good idea to negate everything in the "sexual harassment" patient's accusation, House had gone to work in checking all of the documentation from the day he'd seen the woman. Having already talked to Jessica, the nurse who had been present during the visit, House was completely self assured that no matter what Stacey came up with to throw at him, he would be prepared. Problem solved, he had rested his head on his arms and dozed off.

Now the sun was hanging low in the sky, and Allison was off running around the clinic. He wasn't going to lie to himself, he really wished Allison was up here with him instead of down there without him.

With a sigh, House rubbed his face with his hands and sat up straight in his chair.

Grabbing his cane, House stood up and walked out of his office and towards the elevator.

-------------

Allison jumped when House snuck up behind her, his arm encircling her waist. "Almost done?" He asked in a husky voice.

Putting on her best sexy leer, Allison looked him in the eyes, "Why? Looking for a sequel to last night?"

"Hmm..." House traced a lazy circle over her stomach. "Maybe, but I was thinking, before I passed out at my desk, that it's been a _long_ time since I fucked you into a dead faint." His voice was a low rumble against her ear. "Not to mention, I think that hickey's starting to fade already and needs another coat."

Allison turned completely in his loose embrace, "I don't know if you've got it in you to fuck me into a dead faint again. You gotta remember, you've only really done that once, and it was the first night we were together. I think I've got you pretty well figured out."

"Oh, dear Dr. Cameron, you only think you've got me figured out." He winked and began to limp away, "I'll meet you at the car." He called and vanished behind a gaggle of nurses.

Allison followed him a moment later as she finished filling out her final chart of the day. When she arrived at the parking garage, she found House waiting behind the driver's seat for her. Getting in, she was surprised to see him lean over. Mimicking his motion, she leaned towards him and received a nice, long kiss.

"Mmm." Allison licked her lips as she pulled away, "Yummy."

As House drove them back to the apartment, Allison watched as he let his hand fall to her thigh. She looked at him with a slight smirk. So he wasn't kidding. Well, she could play too, now couldn't she? Letting her hand land over his, Allison gave it a tight squeeze before sliding it up and down her leg before releasing his hand. House kept running his hand over her thigh even after she let him go, letting it creep between her parting legs.

Pulling into his normal parking space, House turned off the car, but didn't move to get out right away. Instead, he turned to Allison once again. Cupping her chin, he pulled her bottom lip down slightly before kissing her deeply. With a slight moan, Allison's arms wrapped around his neck as she kissed him back feverishly. Running her hands down his back, Allison pulled him closer to her, but cursed the consul between them that prevented them getting any closer. "Back seat." She panted against his mouth. With a moment of inspired ingenuity, they managed to clamber over the seats and into the back, clumsily running their hands over each others' bodies.

Claiming his spot between her legs, House ground down against her, sliding his hands beneath her to cup her ass and press harder against her. Allison moaned against his lips. whimpering as he pulled away to make a trail of kisses down her chest. He made quick work of the buttons on her blouse, cupping her breasts through her bra.

Head smashed against the back, passenger door, Allison barely noticed that it was starting to hurt as they moved together. She didn't want to stop to go up to the apartment, or even stop him from pulling her pants down despite the fact that any passersby could easily look in the car and see them. Bowing her legs, Allison watched House's mouth descend on her aching womanhood. His lips encircled the throbbing clit, sucking it before flicking his tongue against the heated flesh.

Arching her neck, Allison felt the dull throb of her head against the door. Part of her wanted to continue their actions upstairs in the privacy of their bedroom, but another part of her didn't want him to stop, even for the length of the elevator ride. Contorting her back to smash her bucking hips against House's mouth, Allison wailed slightly as she felt the twinges of her impending orgasm. She knew he could feel how close she was, that's why she damned him when he stopped his rhythm to take on a new one. He did this another two times before he followed through to the end, sending her crying his name as she fell over the edge of bliss. "Greg..." She panted slightly, "Upstairs... NOW!"

Allison barely had her pants over her hips, let alone fastened as they toppled out of the car, making a mad scramble towards the apartment building's threshold. A perk to working so late was that there was rarely ever anyone in the hallways and elevator. Tonight was no different. House's hand kept dipping below the open waistline of her pants, cupping her through the panties that were barely all the way on. She ground against him as the elevator dinged that they'd met their floor.

Wasting no time, the two made the distance of the hallway in record time, and no sooner had House slammed the door behind them, he'd pushed Allison onto her knees. Looking up at him over her shoulder, Allison hooded her eyes, smiling up at him before falling to her hands and giving her ass an inviting wiggle. House fell to his own knees behind her and roughly pulled her pants and underwear down before making quick work of his fly. Ramming into her, Allison let out a cry she couldn't repress, soon she'd fallen to her forearms, exaggerating her angle until she felt like he were going to tear her in half.

She came quickly, already warmed up from their frolic in the car. Now she was rounding a third orgasm and House showed no signs of letting up. His hand reached around to grasp her breast, his fingers pinching her taut nipples into harder peaks. She cried out again as her third orgasm in the short time flooded her body, causing her to clench and moan around him.

Though it didn't give him nearly the amount of trouble it use to, House's leg gave a twinge and he decided to rest it. He couldn't go ruining himself early in the night if he planned to follow through on his earlier remark. Rolling them back so that she was now seated on his lap with her back to him, Allison quickly took control of her new position. House's hands fell to her hips, helping her propel herself faster against him. He could feel her shaking, and a thin coat of sweat was shining on her flushed skin. Watching her ass rise and fall against him, his cock disappearing inside her body made House groan and tip his head back before giving one bouncing cheek a sharp smack. Allison yelped and hurried her movements, shivering and choking on moans as a mini climax shuddered through her. Falling backwards, Allison was now needing to use her arms to keep her movements going. She was panting and sweating and so gorgeously flushed from her continuous stream of orgasms, that House needed to see her face.

Slowing her down to the point that she could turn in his arms, House quickly brought their movements back to speed once she was facing him. Grabbing at the clasp of her bra, Allison undid it and her breasts fell free, bouncing in rhythm to their thrusting bodies. House reached up to hold them in his palms, feeling the tight buds against his hands. He gave the well rounded globes and squeeze and Allison moaned, her head falling back as his thumbs brushed over her nipples.

"Greg, I-I-I!" Allison was gasping for breath when her next full orgasm hit her and House made quick work of rolling her onto her back and continuing his thrusts. Her legs fell to the floor on either side of his hips, her body limp from exhaustion. Cupping the backs of her knees in his hands, House pushed them up towards her chest. She cried out again, but she was tiring quickly now. Slowing his hips, House opted for slow, hard drives. Allison moaned, her head lolling from side to side on the wood floor.

The control House had shown through the entire act was quickly waning as he watched Allison in her continuous throws. Soon his, head dropped against her shoulder and he was just as breathless as she was. Biting down on her neck, he sucked the flesh hard as he came inside her shaking body. Collapsing against her, House rolled them onto their sides on the floor, both gasping for air. They looked at each other for a long moment as House ran his hand down her side.

"Can you make it to bed?" He asked gently, pushing a dampened lock of stray hair from her sweaty face.

"Maybe if I crawl." Allison grunted, slowly rising. She looked down the hallway and then towards the couch. "I may opt for the sofa... It's closer."

House laughed and helped her off the floor. Allison was surprised by his ability to move. She barely felt like she could stand.

----------------------

"Good mornin'." Allison mumbled as she came into the kitchen the next morning. Her hair was tousled, and despite her best efforts to hide it, she was walking quite gingerly. Indeed, she was the exact vision of a well fucked woman.

"Mornin'." House leaned back in his chair to accept the kiss she offered him as she passed by. "Ready for another wonderful day of work?" He asked sarcastically.

"Always." Allison grumbled, grabbing the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup.

Shortly after breakfast, the couple was showered and driving to the hospital, but as they walked in through the front doors, they were met by an unwelcome sight.

"You again?" House groaned loudly in exasperation.

"Nice to see you too, Greg." Stacey was standing with her hands on her hips, her foot tapping in annoyance. "Ready to get this started?"

"Get what started?" House crossed his arms over his chest. "I've already checked my documentations and talked to Jessica. I was never alone with that woman, and I have a whole staff that can back me up!" House threw his hands in the air, clearly past the point of annoyance and pushing into the land of down right animosity. "Do you want to see the files I've set up against you!?" He nearly hollered. "Their on my desk and just hankering to blow your little lawsuit out of the water."

"Fine, let's see them." Stacey said darkly.

House's arms flew into the air once again. Everyone in the lobby was holding their clipboards a little closer to their faces, for fear that he may explode and shower them with Dr. House parts.

Stomping towards the elevators, House stabbed the call button with more contempt that a piece of machinery deserves to be stabbed with. Stacey stood calmly beside him. Their ride to diagnostics was made in the darkest of all silences, and when they arrived, it was a very angry House that stormed to his office.

"Greg, why don't we stop this?" Stacey said, leaning against one of the clear walls of his office.

"That's what I've been trying to get you to do!" House nearly screamed.

"Not the lawsuit. This." She gestured to herself and him.

"Stacey, I don't know why you left your husband, but if it was for me- you can forget it." House thrust his documentation in front of her.

"How did you know-"

"Ally found out."

"How-"

"None of your business."

Stacey fumed for a second, "I thought you were enough of a snooping child by yourself, I see that a little girl has only increased your juvenile behavior."

House said nothing to her, still holding the documents in a death like grip in front of her.

"I thought you were attracted to maturity." Stacey taunted.

"Yes, Stacey, it was _so_ mature of you to concoct a lawsuit, present it to me and then bash my girlfriend." House rolled his eyes and tossed his documents on the desk. "While we're talking of maturity. It was so darn post-pubescent of you to believe that there was anything left between us."

"Post-pubescent."

"I hate repeating words too much." House shrugged.

"Come on, Greg." Stacey closed the space between them. He saw her glance out of the corner of her eye before a glinting smile covered her lips.

House's eyes flickered to where she'd looked and he saw Allison stomping her way over. Having seen way too many movies to be caught in a cliche as lame as being caught kissing his ex, House brought his hand up quickly and put the back of it to his mouth. When Stacey's lips met his palm, he shoved her into the chair that was behind her. "Yes, Stacey, real mature." He said before storming out of the office.

"Don't leave a mess after you've killed her." House grunted as he passed Allison in the hallway.

Stacey got up quickly when she heard the office door open and shut, "Not Greg." Allison clarified as she saw the hopeful look in Stacey's eyes as she spun around. The woman's gaze dropped. "For the record, Stacey." Allison flickered the blinds shut. "I _pray_ that you had some male siblings growing up. 'Cause if you didn't, you're totally fucked."

Stacey crossed her arms over her chest, "He wants a woman, not a little girl." She said scornfully.

Allison's smile did not waver. "Considering what he did to me last night, I think he sees me as a woman." Her own arms crossed over her chest, her smile growing slightly.

---------------

"What are we doing on your balcony?" Foreman grunted to his boss as House dragged him, Chase, and Wilson out onto the snow covered balcony through Wilson's office door.

"You'll see!" House said gleefully as they all peaked into his office, trying to hide, but still maintain a good view.

The two ducklings' mouths gaped open when they saw Allison's lips move and Stacey's hand fly out and slap her across the face.

"Your all witnesses, Stacey struck first!" House cheered.

-----------------

"I was waiting for that." Allison grinned and slammed an closed fist against Stacey's cheek, "You better have more than a sissy slap like that!"

Stacey recollected herself and charged at Allison, but the younger woman sidestepped and clothes lined her. "I am going to sue your ass!" Stacey shrieked, clambering back to her feet.

"Aw, so sad, but the camera knows that you hit me first." Allison pointed at the webcam on House's desk. Stacey's mouth fell open and then shut a couple of times, "So unless you want me to sue _your_ ass for hitting a-"

---------------

The other three men were trying to stifle their laughter as House continued to watch. He was never very good at reading lips, but there were a couple words he was pretty good at seeing, and the one he saw cross Allison's lips made him freeze.

-----------------

The hospital was abuzz with the latest news, most of the hospital staff was going on and on about the cat fight that took place in Dr. House's office.

Even more comments were flying when a bouquet of tiger lilies arrived for Dr. Cameron, most saw the humor behind the bouquet, and didn't even need to snoop at the card to figure out what they were about let alone who they were from.

"Thanks for the flowers, Greg." Allison gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek, thanking him for the twelfth time that day. The hospital was dark as House was playing his Gameboy Advanced by the light of his desk light. "Ready to go home?" She asked, pulling on her coat.

"Almost." House snapped his game consol shut. "I've got something for you."

House went to his coat and grabbed something out of it. "I've been carrying this around with me for about a month now, I know how snoopy you can be." He teased, hiding what he'd taken from his coat in the large palm of his hand. "Sit down."

Allison sat on the couch and looked at him curiously. "Close your eyes and hold out your hand." He said gently, sitting down beside her.

Allison held out her right hand and shut her eyes. She heard a little creak and her heart leapt. "I think," he began in a quiet voice, "we'll be needing this hand tonight." He took her left his hand hand and Allison could feel her heart hammering against her ribs. It was so loud, could he hear it?

She felt a cool metal graze her ring finger and her hand began to shake, "Greg?" Allison barely managed to get her voice above a whisper.

"Ally, I want to spend my life with you." House said gently, watching her eyes open and amazingly not glance at the ring he hand hovering around her finger, waiting to be slipped on all the way, "Will you marry the guy that made an ass out of himself trying to pretend he didn't love you?"

Allison pushed her hand against the ring, the metal band slipping the rest of the way onto her finger. "Yes, I will." She smiled so wide that she thought her lips would crack. Smashing her mouth to his in a deep kiss, Allison only pulled away to finally look at her engagement ring. The diamonds on it shimmered back up at her and she felt her chest swell. "I have something to tell you too." Allison said breathlessly.

"What?"

"I'm... I think at least..."

TBC...

A/N- Hey guys! Thanks for waiting for me on this chapter. I've been suffering some HARDCORE writer's block lately! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and that you think it was up to more usual standards. I'd hate to think that I hit over par (God forbid a triple bogey:O) Please review, and yeah... Hopefully, Crosses fingers, the next chapter will be out sooner than this one!Andi 


	32. Chapter 32

Title: Contagious

Chapter Thirty-Two: I Really Want

"Allison," House interrupted her stammers, "I already know about the transfer."

Allison tensed.

"I saw you mouth the words when you were bitch slapping Stacey." "I wasn't bitch slapping, I was taking that bitch DOWN!" Allison laughed.

House smiled at her. "If you want to run the immunology department, I can take it. I want you to advance your career, and you'll never do that standing under me. My little duckling has to grow up, right?" He brushed a stray hair from her face.

Allison flung her arms around his neck. "Thank you!" She kissed his face.

"Do you think it would have really mattered if you were a department head or just a normal employee to threaten with a lawsuit?" He asked in amusement.

Pulling away, Allison shrugged, "I just wanted to rub it in her face that I'm more than just your coffee girl and the little girl you bring home and fuck into oblivion."

"You're not a girl, Allison." House pulled her into his lap. "You're my gorgeous fiancee." He gave her ass a tight squeeze. "And _all_ woman." He kissed her lips. Giving her rear a slight pat, he dislodged her from his lap and they stood together. "Now, let's go home." He murmured, taking his fiancee's hand and walking with her in an anticipating silence towards the elevators.

------------------------

The next morning, no one missed the rock on Allison's finger. Though she tried hard not to flaunt it, she'd catch herself brushing her hair from her eyes when she was talking to someone, and quickly chastised herself for being so showy. It wasn't normal for the woman to flash jewelry in people's faces, but she wanted everyone to know, and she didn't have too many friends in the hospital to go jumping up to and belt it out. So her subliminal messaging would have to do.

She didn't have to flash her hand around for Foreman and Chase to notice. Both men jumped to their feet and started squawking around her anxiously.

"House proposed!?" Foreman nearly screamed.

"House actually wants to get married?" Chase looked like he would faint.

It was no surprise that the guys responded like this. Neither could have anticipated that their boss would ever be one to consider matrimony. After all, at House's age, most figured that if he'd ever planned on getting married, he would have done it by now.

"Yes, he proposed. We haven't set a date yet, but we haven't really had time to discuss it." She sighed, anticipating the lunch they had decided to have later that day just to get the details underway. Date, invites, etc. Allison sighed again, she couldn't wait!

----------------------

Wilson spit up his coffee, "P-proposed!" He sputtered, dabbing his mouth with a kleenex, as well as his tie, which hadn't escaped the spray of java. "Last night?" Wilson managed to ask as he dabbed mournfully at his pastel tie, which was now speckled in dark brown stains.

House nodded, "I've been wanting to ask her for a while, but... I don't know. When I found out that she'd never had a boyfriend around Valentine's Day, I wanted to wait and make it special-"

"House, you wouldn't have asked her on Valentine's Day anyway. It's too cliche for you." Wilson laughed. "Have you set a date?"

House shook his head, "We're talking about that at lunch today." He confessed. "I don't know when she'd want it, and I don't really care when it is, I just want it to happen."

Wilson stared for a long moment at his closest friend. It was hard to swallow really; after all, Gregory House was not someone to ultimately change his life at the drop of a hat. Bachelorhood was a longer standing status in House's life than a monogamous relationship. And yet...

"I'm happy for you, Greg." Wilson cracked his first real smile since he'd been given the news. "Give me all of the details after you guys talk." He ushered his friend out of his office.

-------------------------

"Dr. Cameron, come in." Cuddy motioned to the chair in front of her desk. "That has to be the quickest response to a page I've gotten from anyone in this hospital." Lisa laughed. "By the way, I heard about the engagement. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Allison barely managed to keep the anxious excitement out of her voice.

"Of course, I'm sure that you know that congratulations on your engagement are not why I've called you to my office." Allison's head bobbed nervously. "As the Hospital Administrator of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, I am honored to tell you that the board has approved you for heading the Immunology Department. Your transfer will be completed upon the retirement of Dr. Chelevski."

-------------------------

House's bum leg nearly crumbled under the weight of Allison jumping into his arms. As one free arm fastened around her waist, his other supported their combined weight against his desk. Foreman and Chase, who were seated on the other side of the glass wall both looked confused, and just a little scandalized at the actions of their co-workers. Allison's legs were wrapped around House's hips and she was peppering his face with quick, little kisses.

"I got the promotion!" She squealed in his arms, her excitement pouring off of her in waves. House repressed the pang in his chest. He was happy for her, but of course, he didn't want to see her go. The little voice in his head that had been willing her to get passed over for the promotion started screaming in his ears as his fears were confirmed. But he'd said just last night that he would be happy for her...

"That's great." He tried to sound enthusiastic when he finally spoke, but unfortunately for him, Allison had mastered the art of his voice inflections.

"You're not happy." She unravelled her legs from his waist. "I-I thought you said you wanted this for me."

"I do-"

"Then why aren't you happy?" Allison could barely keep the agitation out of her own voice.

"I _am_ happy, Allison." He sounded almost pleading. Damn her and her intuitiveness.

"Greg-"

"Allison, I swear I'm happy for you." House promised. "I'm just going to miss you in _this_ department. Is it wrong of me to be disappointed that I will now have to find excuses to visit the immunology floor?" He mock pouted. "Come on, baby, don't be mad at me for already missing you." He widened his eyes like the ones she made at him; it always worked for her! "Aren't you going to miss me too?" His lip jutted out further as his hands slid down her back and cupped her ass.

Allison cracked a smile and leaned back against his desk. House leant in and kissed her lips gently. "Wanna go tell the boys?"

"In a minute." Allison pushed him towards the door to the balcony. She'd discovered a blind spot over there, where nobody in the Diagnostics Department could spy on them.

---------------------

"Is everything all right, Chelsea?" Wilson asked his patient gently. She'd suddenly stopped her quiet weeping and stared blankly out the window behind his back.

"There's two people making out on your balcony." Chelsea pointed behind him.

Wilson spun around, and sure enough, Allison and Greg were at it already. "Uh... Recently engaged." He blushed slightly when he caught a glimpse of their wandering hands, luckily his patient remained oblivious because his ficus plant hid that little picture from her view. "Excuse me a minute?" Wilson stood and rapped on the glass. He saw House tear his lips from his fiancee's and glare at him. Exasperatedly, Wilson gestured to his patient. House rolled his eyes, gave Allison's butt, what appeared to be, a hard slap and they were soon gone.

"Sorry about that." An embarrassed Wilson sat back in front of his patient. Chelsea smiled slightly.

--------------------

Foreman and Chase watched Allison and House sneak passed the window once again. Curiously, they watched them enter House's office, but neither continued their previous actions. With a sigh, the two men shrugged and went back to their crossword and magazines.

"Do you ever wonder if we're the only two doctors in this hospital _not_ getting laid?" Chase asked with a grunt.

"Speak for yourself." Foreman finished another line on his crossword.

------------------

Later that day, House and Allison left the hospital for lunch. They took seats at a nearby diner and just stared at each other for a long time.

"So..." Allison said nervously. "Now what?"

"Well..." House was unsure how to proceed as well. He figured that Allison would have something in mind, but thinking about it, her first marriage had been done practically in secret, and it had been foolish of him to think that she knew any better than he did where to go from here. "I guess we should decide a place that we'd like to get married..."

Allison nodded, "Um... Aren't we suppose to book a reception hall first?"

"I thought you booked the place you get married and then the reception hall." House was now puzzled.

"Or are we suppose to pick a date first?"

"Um."

Allison pulled out her cell phone, dialing, she waited for the call to connect. "James, can you meet us at the diner down the street, Greg and I are in a dilemma." She paused, "Yes, already!" She hung up the phone.

"You called Wilson?" House quirked an eyebrow.

"Well, he must know how to do all of this by now!" Allison whined.

"Touche."

Both waited in silence as they awaited Wilson's arrival. When the oncologist stepped into the diner, both stood and ushered him into their booth. "What are we suppose to do!?" They both said quickly.

With wide eyes, Wilson barely had a moment to contemplate before both were hounding him. "WOAH!" He flushed slightly when other diner patrons looked their way. "Okay, first: think of who you want to invite, when you want it to be, how much you want to spend, and then worry about the rest." Looking at both he assumed his next statement. "So, I guess you both want a non-religious ceremony, right?" Both nodded. "Okay, then you'll want to consider where you want the wedding to be, since it won't be in a church."

"Okay." Allison thought for a minute. "All right.. Thanks, Wilson, sorry for making you come down here."

Wilson nodded and rose from the seat. "See you guys in a while. Good luck."

House turned to his fiancee, "So, when would you want to be married?" He asked curiously.

"Hmm." Allison tilted her head to the side. "I want a fall wedding."

House was slightly surprised at that, "Really?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I thought you would want a summer wedding." Allison stuck out her tongue and he laughed, "Why fall?"

"I love the fall." Allison sighed, leaning against her hand, "The way the leaves change and color everything. Even when everything is crumbling, it goes to sleep so beautifully."

House nodded, he'd never heard something so poetic from her. "Any particular place you had in mind?"

Allison shrugged, "I don't really mind where. All that's important to me is that my family is there, and a couple of my closest friends... And it has to be dog friendly, 'cause I want Kane with me." She smiled impishly at her whim.

Laughing slightly, House nodded, "So, you don't have a dream wedding already pre-planned? I thought that that was what all women planned since childhood."

"I don't need a dream wedding, Greg. All I really want or need, is you."

TBC

A/N- Yes, short chapter, but my plans are in need of a bit of a jump in time frame, and lately, my chapters have been running pretty long. So, I've decided to be easy on myself and snip it down a bit for this one! Hope you guys liked it.-Andi- And as always- REVIEW PLEASE:D


	33. Chapter 33

Title: Contagious

Disclaimer: Omitted

Chapter Thirty-Three: Someone To Tell

Allison paced the length of the hall between the bedroom and the living room. She had the phone against her ear, discussing her family get together with her oldest brother, and House thought she looked radiant. Her hair was dripping with water from her shower, a patient had decided to puke on her in the clinic, and she had practically run into the bathroom when she'd gotten home. She was cozily snuggled in her thick bathrobe, which only made an appearance from their closet when the apartment was cold. Normally all the young woman would wear was a towel on her head after a shower, not caring if she was walking around the apartment naked.

Watching his fiancee walk towards the bed where he lay, House smiled as she picked her engagement ring up off of the bedside table, and slid it back onto her finger. Something inside him stirred with pleasure when he watched her put it on, and something inside him growled when she took it off, even if only to shower or do the dishes.

As Allison hung up the phone and looked at him, House pulled the corner of the blanket aside so that she could curl up underneath with him. Slipping out of her robe, he saw the shiver that ran across her skin, goose-bumping the flesh. She slid between the covers, immediately snuggling against him and stealing his warmth.

"We all set for Sunday?" House asked, his hands trailing against the cool, shivering skin of her arm. Allison nodded her head against his chest. "Do you want me to warm you up?" He asked with a devilish leer. Allison paused a second, looked up at him and grinned with a similar mischievous gleam. "I take that as a "yes"."

------------------------------

House peered over at his fiancee, she was practically bouncing in the seat of the car. He smiled in amusement, he knew that she was excited to be seeing her family. He also knew that the majority of the excitement was because they'd be announcing their engagement. Thinking for a minute, House realized something for the first time.

"Ally, if no one in your family is religious, then why do we always get together on Christian holidays?" He asked.

Allison laughed for a second. "Well, all five of us were raised Catholic, so we kinda had it drilled into our heads our entire lives." She shrugged, "We just kinda go with it, but we don't do anything very traditional. By the way, Thanksgiving isn't a Christian holiday." She pointed out.

"True." He concede.

"I can't wait to see how Loli's doing." Allison sighed, wondering how her pregnant sister-in-law was holding up.

House pulled off of the highway, "How long have they had their house?" He asked.

"About five years now." Allison smiled warmly. "I lived with them for a couple of months when I moved to the east coast." Leaning back against her seat, Allison let her hand fall to the back seat and scratch Kane behind the ears.

As they pulled into a small community of homes, House found the address and rolled into the driveway. Stepping out he breathed in the air. Spring was flaring in his nostrils and he could just feel the buds on the trees waiting to burst open into life. With a sigh, he opened the back passenger door to release Kane. The dog dove out and into the grass, rolling around in excitement.

An older labrador let out a booming bark from the porch of Bryce and Loli's home. The black lab bounded towards the german shepherd and the two began play fighting. "They can stay out here. It's a nice day and they should enjoy it." Allison took House's hand as she said this and strolled up the driveway to the front door. They didn't bother ringing the doorbell, just swung the door open and began enveloping the family in close hugs.

"How have you been?" Allison immediately asked her sister-in-law, placing her hand on the ever growing bulge of the older woman's belly. "You look amazing." She cooed as they plopped onto the couch. House wasn't surprised to see a movie already playing on the Tv, or that Morgan and Stephen were curled up together on the blue loveseat. Something always seemed to surprise House when he found the two other couples still expressing such loving behaviors with their significant others, and part of him wondered if he could live up to what Allison had seen both of her brothers have. Could he really give her the same type of affectionate cuddles that these two other couples seemed to bestow on each other?

"Oh my God, Ally!" Loli shrieked in surprise and happiness. Soon House found himself enveloped in a hug. "Congratulations!" The blonde woman cried, giving her future brother-in-law a hug. "Have you set a date yet?"

Soon Allison's brothers were crowding around House and his fiancee, Morgan tugging at Allison's hand to get a look at the ring, Stephen enveloping her shoulder's in a lengthy limbed hug, and Bryce ruffling his little sister's hair. House still had Loli around his middle, and he was extremely grateful when she let go to gawk over Allison's ring with Morgan.

Flopping onto the couch, House focused his attention on the movie that was playing as the family fawned over Allison. However, somehow, "Suicide Kings" did not feel like a very Easter oriented movie.

"Can I have my fiancee back?" House asked after almost a half hour of coddling the baby of the family took place. Her two older brothers laughed, giving their sister a shove towards the couch before getting back to making dinner. Allison curled up against House's side like a needy kitten. "You enjoyed that didn't you?" He teased, poking her nose with the tip of his index finger. Allison blushed a slight bit, she couldn't lie, it had been nice being the center of attention for a change.

"Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes!" Bryce called from the kitchen, dipping a baby carrot in dressing, as the oldest brother pulled out a leg of lamb from the oven.

"That seems rather symbolic." House snorted at the lamb, making Allison laugh.

After everything was ready and all were gathered at the dinner table, Loli took the privilege of the toast, raising her glass of sparkling grape juice as everyone else raised a glass of wine. "To our growing family." Her eyes smiled kindly at House as she let her fingers trail over her growing belly. When everyone had taken a sip of their drinks, a conversation sprung to life as they served up their plates.

"So, any ideas on a date?" Bryce asked his little sister.

"I was thinking the fall. After Loli has the baby." She winked at her sister-in-law, "I figured it would be easier for a fitting after the baby is born." Loli laughed, "Anyway, I'm still considering, but we're not really sure. Plus, we have no clue who's going to merry us since we don't want a religious wedding."

Bryce thought for a moment, "You remember my friend? Judge Edgars?"

"Oh yeah! He was at your wedding, he's a judge now?" Allison tilted her head.

"Yes, he is. I could ask him if he'd do it." Bryce shrugged.

"Wow!" Allison laughed, then turned to her fiance. "He's a really great guy. He was one of the groomsmen at their wedding." She explained.

"Ah," House thought for a minute, "I'd like to meet him before we make any decisions though."

"Of course!" Bryce laughed. "I'll get you his number before you guys leave. Just wait until Wednesday to call him so I have time to give him a heads up, okay?"

Both nodded, "I haven't talked to him since your wedding though, you don't think it will be weird?"

Bryce shrugged, "I doubt that he'll mind."

"Ally..." House looked at his fiancee, "Do you want to get married on our one year?"

Head whipping to look at her boyfriend, Allison stared at him a long time. "Really?"

"When's that?"

"October twenty-first""October twentieth." Both looked at each other.

"Was it before or after midnight?" Allison asked as Morgan and Stephen spit up their wine.

"You got together between our birthdays?" Morgan asked in slight amusement once he and his partner had wiped up the spray of wine.

"Yeah." Allison smiled then laughed, "That would be weird actually... After all... Loli and Bryce got married on their four year anniversary which was on my birthday... And we'd be getting married on ours which is between your two birthdays."

House rubbed his eyes, "I'm seeing too many parallels in your family." He groaned. Loli got up for a minute and went to the kitchen, looking at a calendar on the fridge. "You'd want to it on the 21st, that's a Saturday." She told them.

"Who are you planning on inviting?" Stephen asked.

"Well, not my family." Allison teased, sticking out her tongue.

Loli came back into the dining room and ruffled her sister-in-law's hair.

"All of you guys, some of our co-workers. Marah, Erica, her husband, and Kane." Allison rattled off.

"Your dog's going to be at the wedding?" Stephen looked at his sister in amusement.

She shrugged, "Got a problem with that?" Her voice sounded threatening, even though her eyes were anything but.

Morgan laughed, "Considering you had Sway as your best man/dog?" He pointed out, reminding House about the golden retriever he'd seen at their apartment on Thanksgiving.

Stephen rolled his eyes, "Oh!" He stopped his imitation of annoyance as he remembered something. "Ally, I have something for you." Stephen got up and went out the front door. When he came back, he had a small, dark blue book. "I found it when we were packing to move into our new home, and I figured you'd want it back." Allison took it with a nervous hand and flipped it open. When she read the first line of it, she smiled, closed it and hugged it close.

"Thank you." She smiled. House looked at her curiously.

Loli looked at the book her sister held and suddenly remembered as well, "Will you read us one?" She asked, and Allison could hear the hope in her older sister's voice.

"They're not that good." Allison blushed, but opened the book none-the-less.

"Come on." Stephen nudged his sister.

Allison gave in. "_Tomorrow I'll wake, and it will all be the same_

_When look at me, and can't remember my name_

_But that isn't what makes me want to cry_

_Not even that look gleaming in you eye_

_That orbit that sheds blood from an unseen scar_

_Landing me miles away on a shooting star_

_Where I tumble and fall burning in the atmosphere_

_I spiral, not scorched, and all becomes clear_

_I no longer tumble, but instead spread my wings_

_Who knew I could fly, when weighted down by such things?_"

Everyone clapped, and House looked at the woman he was going to marry. She was poetic after all. He had thought that her words not too long ago had been a fluke. He hadn't realized that it had been natural for her to express herself like that. Part of him was in awe, but another part knew that it had been in her. Too many times she had said something that could easily be considered poetic, but to hear something that she had written, who knows how long ago, made him curious for more.

"You should have published." Bryce sighed, shaking his head as if regretting something.

"We're not going there _again_." Allison rolled her eyes, "I told you, I'm not meant to publish." She snapped the book shut.

Stephen mimicked his brother's motion, "You could have, you know?"

"I couldn't... I can't imagine people reading my poetry and coming up with their own conclusions on how I felt when I wrote it." Allison made a face. "I don't want people dissecting my feelings and then giving me back a mutilated idea of what _I_ was thinking."

"An interesting motion." House finally spoke. "It's like jazz. The real song is never played the same way twice, it's inside, and it can never be heard again the way it was the first time. Even a recording can never portray what the musician was feeling when they played. Just like a poem can never be read the same way it was written once the feeling has passed."

All heads now turned and looked at House. Allison beamed at her fiance. She knew he would understand. The musician in him had to understand.

House reflected as the family went back to their talks. Loli had broken out a set of ultra-sound photos, and now he was left to his own thoughts. He remembered the fateful night that had landed Allison at his door after her apartment had gone up in flames. He had been playing piano that night, and though he could not remember the notes his fingers had hit, and couldn't remember the sound of it at all, he knew that the feeling he'd had would never be one he'd experience again. He would never feel the loneliness that had consumed him and pulled him towards the keys for comfort ever again. Because she was his now. And he would never miss her again.

Because she was his.

TBC

A/N- Yes, a looooooooooong wait. And I apologise, but life gets in the way. And I'm sorry, but Mick Jagger was wrong. Time is NOT on the side of a writer! Especially a college student writer. Who's sick of writing papers! When said college student wants to write THIS! WHHHHHHAAAAA!!!! okay, I feel better now. Anyway, hope you guys liked it, and we've got a bit of a roller coaster in store, so hold on tight and please keep all hands and other appendages inside the vehicle.-Andi


	34. Chapter 34

Title: Contagious

Chapter Thirty-Four: Snoop

House leaned over his fiancee's sleeping form, double checking that she was asleep. When her rhythmic breathing confirmed his suspicions, he slid out of bed and went to the dresser. Digging through her underwear, he found the little, dark blue book she'd thrown in there. Creeping out of the room, he went into the living room and turned on a light.

After hearing one of her poems a few weeks ago, he had been curious to read what else she had written. Flipping it open, he began at the beginning. Originally he had only meant to glimpse, but he found that he couldn't skim, needing to read the poems in their entirety. After all, you couldn't listen to just part of a song.

He found himself coming up with unusual rhythms with her poetry, almost as if some had been lyrics. Most of the time, he realized that a syllable had been exaggerated, and that Allison had even written in which one it was. Pondering what melody she had originally concocted for the suspected songs, he read on. He was even happier to find that all most all of them had been dated, some even including a time. Those that had time stamps were usually written in the wee hours of the morning between two and four AM. How many had been written upon a sudden waking? When she'd tossed and turned, finally sitting up in her bed and clambering for this little book?

Pausing somewhere in the middle of the book, House read the last line of the final stanza of the poem he'd been reading. "_Am I standing in the shadows, or am I too shallow to see the light?_" Rereading the entire poem, he realized it was about her brothers. He hadn't realized just how overwhelmed she felt with having two brilliant brothers. It must have been difficult for her being the youngest, when she felt like her brothers had already done everything, and done it so well.

Snapping the book shut and turning off the light, House snuck back into the bedroom, replaced the book back into the drawer and slid back into bed. Curling an arm around Allison's waist, House pulled her against him slightly.

"So, what did you think?" Allison's voice made House flinch in surprise. Turning in his loose embrace, Allison looked at his darkened eyes, which casted a gleam at her from the light shining from the full moon outside their window.

Settling back into his skin, House smiled softly, he knew she wasn't angry at him for reading her book, and that was comforting. "How many of those were songs?" He asked.

"A few, probably about five or six." She shrugged. "So... What did you think?" She asked again, and House caught the note of insecurity that he'd missed the first time she had asked the question.

"Truthfully, I think your brothers were right, you could have been published." House caught her chin, giving her lips a soft kiss, "But I'm glad that they weren't." He wrapped his arms around her once more, pulling her against his chest in a tight hug.

Comforted by his remark, Allison curled her head against his chest, listening to his heart. "Will you hold me like this after we're married?" She murmured against his chest.

"I don't think I could stop holding you like this, married or not." House replied, nuzzling his cheek against the top of her head. "Unless we lose the air conditioning in the middle of the summer."

Allison laughed, her arms sliding around his back and under the t-shirt he was sleeping in that night. Her hands felt cold against the flesh of his back. "Good night." She sighed.

--------------------------

Allison blinked her eyes open as sun filtered in through the window. She couldn't believe it was already nearing the middle of May. She couldn't believe that in less than eight months she would be marrying the man lying next to her... And she couldn't believe how empty she felt.

Getting out of bed, Allison walked to the bathroom in a slight daze. Her chest felt heavy and her throat felt tight. There was an overwhelming sensation to cry, and she couldn't figure out what was causing this pang. This emotional sludge that was dampening her wonderful mood.

Turning on the faucet and letting the water run to gain heat, Allison looked in the mirror as she listened to the rush of the tap. The sound roared in her ears and blocked out everything else. Pulling off her sleep shirt and underwear, Allison returned once more to the shower and stepped in.

Hot water pounding against her, Allison felt her breath catch. That was all she needed. The little stammer in her rhythmic breathing opened the flood gates and tears poured from her eyes, mixing with the rushing water that streamed down her face. She tried to cry quietly, she tried so hard, but he still heard her, and he still came in and pulled back the curtain.

House looked at his fiancee, shaking while she stood in the spray of the shower and choked on her sobs. Turning off the water he didn't care that when he wrapped her in his arms that her wet body soaked his shirt and pants. Instead, he just slid down to the tiled floor, grabbing the towel she'd placed nearby and wrapping her in it as he sat Allison in his lap.

Not asking anything, House just let her cry. He could tell by her sobs that she didn't even know what was wrong; if she had, she would have tried speaking between gasping breaths. This was all he could do for her, and he hoped it was enough. Just sitting there with her in his lap as her wet hair soaked his shirt.

----------------------------

Work was strange that day.

It was strange for House for two reasons.

Firstly, he still had no idea what had triggered the emotional meltdown of Allison.

Secondly, it was Allison's last day in the diagnostics department.

Half of the time, Allison wasn't even in the departement with them because Cuddy had "borrowed" her to go over the doctor's new duties as head of the Immunology department.

Allison sat behind her new desk and looked at the pile of mail and stack of files that were now all hers to deal with. Forms needed to be filled out, letters answered, and files condensed.

Was this what House had to do all the time? She shook her head. No, House had her doing this all of the time. Smiling a bit for the first time that day, Allison went to work. She wondered how long it would take for House to interrupt her.

Just as that thought was exiting her mind, the door to her office swung open.

"What do you say," House swept the stack of papers on her desk to the floor, "we christen your new office?"

Allison jumped and retrieved the stack of folders he'd shoved away, "Greg! I need those!" She whined, putting them on top of the filing cabinet. She went about flipping through them one by one, making sure that they had remained intact.

"Ally." She ignored him, "Ally."

"What?" She didn't look up.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing!" She snapped, picking up another file.

"Ally."

"Greg, I'm busy right now!" She shooed him away to the door.

------------------------

"Oh, no. What happened?" Wilson moaned at the familiar sound of his balcony door and the rush of cool spring air rustled the papers on the oncologist's desk.

"I think Ally's mad at me for something." House flopped onto the couch, his hand swimming in his pocket for his bottle of vicodin. "I swear, I didn't do anything." He popped a pill.

"House, she just transferred departments and became a department head." Wilson assured him, looking for his fountain pen as a chart lay open on his desk in need of being filled out. "Give her some time. She's probably stressed out." He assured once more.

----------------------

Walking to his department, House ran into his fiancee in the hall. "Already need a consult?" He asked.

"No. I just came to remind you that we're meeting Judge Edgars for lunch." She told him. "I'll meet you in the lobby at 1:00, okay?" She walked away.

House stayed rooted to the spot he was in. No "Love you"? No hug? No kiss? Nothing?

Wrong, it was all wrong. This wasn't Cameron, this wasn't his Ally. This was... This was...

----------------------

"Don't you normally bother Wilson when you have a problem?" Cuddy groaned when House stormed into his boss's office.

"I think this is a woman thing." House paced, and Cuddy noticed that his limp was very bad. Eventually his knee buckled and he hobbled into a chair.

"House, what happened?" Cuddy was worried. She had figured out a long time ago that the pain in House's leg was just a crutch that helped him deal with his own emotional turmoil, and that meant that the problem with Allison was real. More real than Lisa would like to think.

"I don't know what happened." House rubbed his palms against his face. "She was fine last night, but she was crying this morning. She's been distant... Not cold or mad... Just... Off in her own world."

Cuddy looked at House for a long moment. "I don't think it's a "woman" thing, House. I think she's just feeling overwhelmed. She's got a wedding to plan in less than a year, she's just taken on heading a department solo, and she's stuck dealing with you for the rest of her life. That alone would send me off into my own little world."

House glared, but stood up none-the-less. Lisa watched him leave, his limp still more noticeable than it had been the last few months, but better than when he'd come into her office. She groaned, please let them figure this mess out before Gregory House went into "self-destruct mode".

--------------------------

"Thank you for meeting with us, Mark." Allison and House shook the judge's hand as they took a seat at the table. The restaurant was crowded with the lunch rush, and she and House were crammed into a corner, the judge across from them.

"Not a problem, Allison." Judge Edgars smiled kindly.

"I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to congratulate you on becoming a judge. I just found out a few weeks ago from my brother." She laughed nervously.

"Well, thank you." Mark glanced at House before speaking to Allison. "I was happy to hear from your brother about your engagement." Then looking at House once again, "You should have seen her at her brother's wedding. She was absolutely beautiful. She doesn't agree of course." He teased.

House nodded, he'd seen the pictures, and he agreed that she had indeed looked beautiful. "I'm sure this seems a little odd." House toyed with the napkin on the table. "You and I not knowing each other."

Mark shrugged, "I decide the fates of plenty of people that I don't know." He joked.

Allison laughed a bit, "Well, we just wanted to meet with you and see if you would be interested."

Leaning back into his seat, Judge Edgars thought for a moment, "I don't have a problem at all. Cameron weddings seem to be quite entertaining." He smirked.

"Well, this one will be a much lower key than Bry's wedding or Ste's life-partner banquet." Allison blushed.

"Small?"

"Tiny." House grunted. "I'm very anti-social."

Allison rolled her eyes. "It's just going to be my brothers, Morgan, Loli, the baby, and a few of our co-workers." She explained.

"What about your parents?" Mark was surprised.

"They-"

"I don't want to make them fly all the way out here for it." Allison interrupted.

"And your aunts and uncles?"

Allison ran her hands through her hair, "They wouldn't come all this way. They don't leave the mid-west very often."

With another nod, the judge decided not to ask anymore along the subject.

Lunch continued on in a superficial chit-chat until both Allison and House had to return to the hospital. Stepping onto the sidewalk, Allison looked at her fiance, "What do you think? Mark seems like he's up for it."

House shrugged, "Seems fine with me... Now, why so clammed up about your family? Is that what's been bothering you all day?" He asked.

Allison stiffened before her eyes darkened, "I don't want to talk about it." She turned on her heel and went to step into the street.

"ALLISON, STOP!"

TBC

A/N- Yes, short, but I decided I wanted to makeup for that large gap in my postings... Plus, I thought that would be a _wonderful_ place to put a cliffhanger. Catch ya later! I hope I don't hold u in suspense for too long ;)-Andi


	35. Chapter 35 :

Title: Contagious

Chapter Thirty-five: It's Been So _Long_...

"ALLISON, STOP!"

Allison's breath caught in her chest when a jerk of her shirt collar nearly choked her, pulling the distracted woman out of the way of a bus that flew right in front of her face. Shaking at what had almost happened, Allison felt her knees growing weak, it was only with House's arm wrapped around her waist, that she made it to the bench of the bus stop. Trembling, Allison realized that she had almost stepped right in front of the vehicle.

House's heart was hammering in his chest as he held her tightly to himself. He shut his eyes, his own breath panting against the top of her head. He could have held her for an eternity and still not been reassured that she hadn't been mowed down by that bus which was now pulling into its stop. As his eyes remained tightly shut, House kept replaying the image in his head as he'd yanked Allison back onto the side walk, her hands flying upward, and the white striped bus flying passed her face. "Ally-"

"I just want them there." She broke down and began sobbing. As her head buried against his chest, she soaked his shirt for the second time that day with her tears. "I want my mom and dad there. I want my aunts and uncles and cousins. I want it to be like before. I want my family back." She sobbed harder. "Why can't I have that?" She gasped for breath, realizing she was feeling better the more that she cried. It felt good, it felt comforting...

"Ally, it's okay." House squeezed her tightly. "I know this is hard... Maybe... Maybe we could wait a while. We don't have to get married this year. If you talk to them, and give it some time, who knows? I'm sure that they'd want to be there."

Pulling away to brush away the tears still trickling down her face, Allison looked at her fiance's face. The sincerity in his eyes, the pleading, desperate look made her smile ever so slightly. A weak smile to go with the weak feeling in her stomach at her near accident.

"I'll... I'll get over it. I want to marry you, Greg." She traced a finger down his cheek and stood up. "We need to get back to work." She sighed, taking his hand and hauling him off of the bus stop bench.

"Are you okay to work?" House asked anxiously. "You almost cashed in a couple of minutes ago."

"Cashed in?" Allison quirked an eyebrow. "How sweet. I'm glad my potential death is referred to so blatantly." She teased.

Grabbing her wrist, House pulled her against him. "Don't be so dismissive of what you're feeling, Ally. You can't hide it from me." He whispered in her ear, even as the hustle and bustle of the city weaved around their statuesque form, which stood like a branch in a rushing stream of moving bodies. Cars honked and cyclists zoomed down the street. Pedestrians chatted away on cell phones as House held her against his body. "Don't hide from me, when I can see when you're unhappy." His voice grew softer. "Just tell me how to make you happy."

Allison pulled away slightly. "I'm just confused right now." She haled a taxi, "Come on, we need to get back to work."

------------------------

House walked Allison to her office, giving her a gentle, reassuring kiss before returning to diagnostics. Entering his own office, he immediately grabbed his phone and made a call. It took him a moment to remember the number, but it came to him as his finger punched the keys.

"Hello, Stephen, it's Gregory House." House greeted Allison's brother. "Yes, I'm fine, but I'm a little worried about Ally... She's been off lately... Yes, it has to do with the wedding, but it's not the normal wedding plans stress. I... She's upset about the family not being there. I think she feels left out that she can't have the wedding that you and Bryce had, and she's depressed about it... Yeah... Yeah... Okay, and the number?" House tipped over his pen holder as he grabbed one in a hurry. "Okay, thanks... I'll talk to you soon, say hi to Morgan for me. Bye." Clicking the receiver, House typed in the next number. "Hello, I don't know if she still lives there, but is Jennifer Cameron there?.. Oh, hello. This is Gregory House. I'm a doctor in New Jersey and I am engaged to your daughter." The surprise in the woman's voice nearly made him jump. "Really... Really... Wow... I had no idea... Here, let me give you our number... What? Oh, okay... I'll see what I can do... Yes... I think that they will all be surprised actually. Thank you, goodbye." House hung up the phone, feeling a bit shocked, but in a good way. Had it really been so long since the siblings had talked to their family that so much could have changed?

Getting up from his desk, House went to his fiancee's office once again. He found her, once again, working on charts. "Ally, I have to talk to you about something." House sat down across from her desk. It felt odd being on the other side of a desk with her.

Shutting the file, Allison looked at House curiously. "What?" She asked softly.

"I just talked to your mother." Allison's eyes went big. "I think you should call her."

Biting her lip, Allison fiddled with the pen she'd been filling out the charts with, twirling it between her fingers. Her eyes went big, and the look of a hopeful, young child shone behind the nervous orbs. "I..." Allison's eyes went stony. "I don't have the number anymore." She said shortly.

House said nothing, but placed a scrap of paper on top of her charts and left.

Limping back to his office, House realized she might just have tossed the piece of paper in the trash without a second thought, but his faith in her personality let him leave her to her own decision.

Even as he walked to the elevator, House continued to ponder the large show that the Cameron family had put on to avoid their parents. Moving to the east-coast and leaving behind their entire family, and yet, the oldest still held onto the last phone number their mother had when they left. That alone gave him confidence that the three siblings, deep down at least, wanted to reconcile with their family.

House understood perfectly well what had torn the family apart. Mr. Cameron losing his job, the constant screaming and fighting, as well as their mother's escape into a bottle of gin.

Hopefully, House crossed his fingers, there would be a reconciliation.

------------------------

An hour and a half later, House was watching Tv in his office, flipping through channels and ignoring his two ducklings on the other side of the glass walls. He could barely hear their bickering over his Tv.

"I love you."

House looked at his door and saw Allison standing there, holding herself as tears trickled from her eyes and curved around the crease of her mouth that was spread into a large smile.

"I love you so much." Her voice broke as she shuffled to the couch and curled against him, once again like a kitten who was in need of a gentle caress.

"They wanted to come. Mom's already calling all of her brothers and sisters and my dad is too." She buried her face against his chest. "Greg, my mom and dad are back together. They have been for three years now. They wanted to talk to us and couldn't. All because my brothers and I never gave them our numbers." She choked once again as she sobbed, but this time, they weren't out of despair. "Greg, I can't... I can't believe." Her face rubbed briskly against his shirt. "I can't believe how much I've missed them." She shook and sobbed and wiped her eyes before they went big. "I've got to call my brothers!" She shrieked and ran to House's phone. Thanks to the revolutionary abilities of conference calls, she had them both on the line, babbling incoherently to them simultaneously in her excitement. For the longest time, it seemed like her brothers had been left stricken into a shocked silence, but soon all three were plotting and working out a way that they could go visit their parents.

It was clear to House that the three of them had never really resented their parents, and deep down had greatly missed them. But it seemed that hard times had torn the family apart, leaving all five in a state of perpetual blame. Mom blaming dad, dad blaming mom, and the kids blaming both. It also seemed that there was some truth behind the unconditional love children felt for their parents. It was scary, yet comforting. Unbelievable, but reassuring. It gave him an odd sense of hope for humanity, one he never felt had existed.

And that hope that she gave him, only made Gregory House love her more. She was so young, and so innocent, but she taught him everyday, and he felt that there was nothing left to teach her about life that she didn't already know.

As Allison hung up the phone, House went behind her, curling his arms around her waist. "I love you so much." He breathed into her ear. "How busy are you in the immunology department?" He asked softly.

"It's my first day, so the workloads not that big. Cuddy didn't want to scare me into resignation too easily." She turned in his loose hold and looked at him. "Want to play hooky?" She asked with a smirk that he felt duplicate on his own lips.

"Definitely."

--------------------------

Kane grunted and jumped off the bed when she heard the front door fling open. Almost as if the sound of _how_ the door opened alerted her to what the actions of her owners were. Trotting to take refuge underneath the piano, House and Allison were oblivious as they yanked away their clothing.

A trail of shoes, shirts, pants, underwear and finally socks, paved the path to the bedroom, where House pushed Allison on top of the mattress. He watched her slide up the length of the bed, using her elbows to clamber towards the headboard. Sprawling over the blankets, Allison watched House lower himself to the bed, crawling towards her, his hands taking time to glide over her legs. The fluid movement of his shoulder blades made Allison feel hot and needy. Her hands reached out to meet his chest, smiling when he took her wrist and placed a kiss on the palm. Covering her body with his, House landed a deep kiss on her lips. Arms wrapping around his neck, Allison laced her long legs around his waist, feeling his hard on pressing against her stomach. She rolled her hips, pressing his cock against the warm flesh of her belly.

"Are you ready for me, baby?" House teased, nipping her earlobe tauntingly.

Rolling her hips again, Allison gnashed her teeth at him, squeezing him tighter with her legs. "I'm always ready for you."

Hand trailing down her chest, Allison's breath caught when his fingers teased her opening. "Mm, I think we can get you a little hotter than that." He breathed, trailing kisses down her chest, suckling the already taut nipples and giving them a tug with his teeth. Fingers still taunting her slick passage, House let one nimble digit slide in.

"Greg, please." She breathed, arching her back and rocking against his hand. House continued suckling her breast as his free hand pinched and tugged the other peak. Allison's hands went to her face, pressing the heel of her hands against her eyes as she cried out and shook with the first, of what House knew to be the beginning, of her long stream of orgasms.

Withdrawing his hand from its place between her thighs, House slowly turned her over to lie on her front. Allison mumbled, raising her hips and propping herself onto her elbows. House ran his hand down the length of her back before curling it around her waist and pressing against her. He could never get tired of feeling her against him or having this control over her. As he felt his cock glide into her slick entry, her internal muscles ringing him tightly when he curled down to plant kisses along her spine. Pushing up against her, he felt Allison shove back towards him, making every blissful collision overwhelmingly powerful.

Allison propped herself on her hands and reared back, knocking House onto his back where she followed and slid onto his lap. Positioning him back inside of her throbbing pussy, she leaned back and captured his wrists in her hands. Riding him feverishly, she pinned his arms down, her back to him as she rolled and bucked her hips to her internal rhythm.

House rocked his hips against her in time with her movements, straining his arms playfully to make her crash down harder in effort to restrain him. He could break the hold whenever he wanted, but for now, he relished in her moment of control. Dominating Allison was fun, but it was so much more enjoyable for him to watch her force the reigns from him. When she had responded so fiercely to Stacey's reappearance and shown him just how much she was his, it had been the biggest turn on of his life. Ever since, he had seen a new side to his fiancee when he took her to bed. A side that had no problem pushing him onto his back and riding him until her thighs shook and she relinquished her control out of pure fatigue.

But she wasn't tiring yet, and House had plenty of this he still wanted to do to her while he was in control. Squirming a wrist free, House reached up and took hold of one lush, bouncing breast, and gave it a hard squeeze. Allison moaned, her flushed face beginning to perspire as she released his other arm to wipe off the forming beads of sweat. "Greg..." She groaned, arching her back in expectations as his thumb and index finger pinched and tugged her nipple.

Releasing her breast, House rotated his hips to turn them over, but he heard Allison cry out in pleasure at the new angle his cock made inside of her. This new moan caused him to clamp her hips tightly in his hands and twist his hips again. She cried out again and turned her body the opposite direction to intensify the sensation. Finally satisfied as he heard her orgasm moan, House finally turned them onto their sides completely, grabbing her right thigh and draping it over his as he thrust relentlessly against her. He could hear her panting in front of him and his own harsh breaths were pounding against the perspiring skin of her back.

Her hair was a mess, sticking to her face and frizzing out in the back as her hand reached between her thighs and circled her throbbing clit. She came again shortly as she touched herself, the combined sensation of her own fingers and her lover's hard cock pounding into her, caused a series of intense shudders that did not dissipate as quickly as they usually did. Allison still felt her muscles twitching in pleasure long after she'd peaked. The series of spasms making a quick crescendo into another large orgasm.

Catching her wrist, House brought her hand to his mouth, enveloping her juice coated fingers with his lips and sucking them vigorously, his tongue wriggling between her fingers.

"Mmm." He moaned, still thrusting against her, his breath coming harder now. "Could never get over how good you taste." House released her hand and clenched his arm tightly around her side as his head pressed between her shoulder blades, "Fuck, Ally, I'm gonna come soon."

Wriggling free of his hold, Allison pulled away, making him withdraw from within her. She smirked at the shocked look on her lover's face, as if her were too surprised to voice the protest she knew he wanted to shout.

Pushing his shoulder, she shoved him onto his back and took his twitching cock in her hand. Pumping feverishly, she looked at his face. His eyes were squinted, somewhere between needing to clench them shut and watch what she was doing. His hands had clenched into fists in the sheets as his knees bent and the other splayed outward.

"I want to watch you come." She murmured in a soft voice that belied the intent of her right hand. That was all it took for her lover's eyes to clamp shut entirely and his neck arch painfully as a great spurt of seed shot upward against her chest.

When he was spent, Allison lowered her mouth to his still pulsing cock and gave the head a slow, languid lick. House whimpered in the back of his throat, his bent leg shaking before bowing out and flopping onto the bed. Opening his eyes he took in in the sight of her semen splattered breasts and sat up. Allison stared at him, a playful gleam in her eyes as he grabbed her roughly by the hair and pulled her mouth against his.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and held him just as tightly, her breasts smashing against his chest. "I think we need a shower." He pulled away breathlessly, his harsh pants beating the statement against her ear.

Letting her head drop against his shoulder, Allison nodded. She felt exhausted, but a nice hot shower did sound good...

TBC

A/N- YAY sex!-Andi


	36. Chapter 36

Title: Contagious

Chapter Thirty-Six: Again With the Family

A/N- Really quickly- I LOVE INSANE SHELTON!!!!!!... -AnDi

House sat with Allison between his knees, running his dripping fingertips down her back. Suddenly, he withdrew his hand and wriggled his finger in his ear.

"What's wrong?" Allison mumbled, reclining against him in the bathtub.

"My ears are ringing." House wriggled his finger again.

"No, the phone's ringing. You're just being a jackass." Allison got up and left several puddles of footprints leading to the bedroom. Picking up the phone, she took a stance that did not portray a damp woman standing naked in the middle of the room. "Hello?"

Allison was quiet a moment, "Hi, mom!" Allison flopped onto the bed and House groaned from his spot in the bathtub. There went the hot soak she'd been whining that she needed all day. Looking at her on the bed, knees bent and lolling back in forth in a playful kicking motion.

Getting out of the tub, House dried himself off before grabbing the other fluffy blue towel that had been meant for Allison. Wrapping his own towel around his waist, he went to the bedroom and started running the soft fabric down her legs and arms. Allison craned her head and looked at him, a pout on her face that clearly said, _I didn't know she would be calling!_. Shrugging, House flopped on the bed next to her and ran the towel along her back before curling it around her sides. Towel safely secured between her and the bed, House began listening to one half of the conversation.

"So, who all is going to be there?" She asked, freeing one of her hands and using it to trace lazy circles on House's chest. "Oh! Wow! So it's just one huge soiree." She laughed, turning onto her back and dislodging the once pinned towel. House wondered if she were taunting him on purpose as her breasts jiggled in front of his face before settling into rounded peaks. Her nipples were taut and tempting to his already salivating mouth. "Yes, I still remember how to get to the house." Allison laughed, making the already tempting mounds bounce. "We'll see you next week." She promised. "I can bring my dog, right?" Allison paused for a moment. "Yeah, Ste and Bry will probably be bringing theirs too... Okay... Okay... Yeah...

House snatched the phone from Allison's loose grasp, "Sorry, Mrs. Cameron, I need to borrow Allison for a bit. She'll call you back." House hung up the phone, flinging it far across the room and pounced on his fiancee. "That was mean." He declared as he straddled her hips and grabbed her wrists to tug upward, effectively pinning her down.

"What was mean?" She said innocently, though her eyes clearly stated that she knew exactly what she'd been doing. Arching her neck she kissed him on the lips.

Pulling away from her mouth he brushed his cheek against hers, "By the sounds of it, it looks like our "little wedding" has just breached maximum capacity." His towel clad hips pressed against hers.

Allison gave an awkward shrug with her arms pinned above her head, "My mom has a big family." She stated nonchalantly.

House grunted and slowly slithered off of the bed, "How big are we talking?" He asked as he knelt on the floor and grabbed Allison's hips, giving them a tug so that they were right on the edge.

"She's the youngest of seven with roughly three nieces and nephews per brother and sister. And then I have about two second cousins for every cousin." Allison smirked when he paused in the tiny kisses he was placing on her thighs.

"That's a rough estimation of nearly 40 people from just your mom's side..." House gaped. "And then throw spouses in there and it's nearly 60!" Feeling faint he asked, "What about your dad's side?"

"He's the middle of three boys. His younger brother has five daughters though, and his older brother just has one, but she has two kids." Her smirk turned into an evil grin, "And guess what?"

"Do I want to?"

"You're meeting all of them next week." She laughed hard at the bemused expression her lover wore.

"Please tell me twins don't run in your family."

"Why?"

"'Cause if they do, we're practicing birth control until you hit menopause."

"Both sides."

"Fuck."

Allison shrugged, "It's not my fault!" She laughed.

"With our luck we'll end up with septuplets."

"Or octuplets."

"I'm going to faint before I can even start licking you pussy." House fell back to his heels in his kneeling posture.

"We can't have that!" Allison looked concerned and sat up to grab the back of his head and pulled him back to the space he'd occupied between her thighs.

"Nope, can't have that." He agreed.

----------------------

House looked at the people on the plane with him. Allison was by his side, Stephen was seated by Bryce and Lolie and he knew that there were four crates containing their pets not too far away.

"Does it feel weird to you, knowing your brother's husband is flying the plane?" House asked Allison softly making the woman jump.

Allison clenched the arm of the chair harder, "Morgan's flown us places before. It was weird the first couple of times though." She looked over at her family, "But they don't seem to mind." She pointed at the three across the aisle with her stiff arm.

It was true, the other three family members looked completely neutral, although Stephen did seem to resent, ever so slightly, that he couldn't chat with his significant other like his brother and sister.

House was amused that even as his fiancee tried to reassure him of her brother-in-law's skills as a pilot, she was the one on the edge of her seat. He knew she hated flying, but this was his first experience with it.

When the landing came, House felt a little uneasy, but Morgan pulled it off without a hitch, and House felt bad that he'd felt like they were going to crash. Of course Morgan had been a pilot for nine years now, so it had been foolish of House to think that he was in less than capable hands.

As they picked up their luggage and the dogs, House noted that Kane was a bit wobbly on her legs. Apparently air travel didn't work for her or her master.

"I'm glad I still have the van, or else we'd never all fit." A voice called behind them as they came into the airport.

Everyone turned around and the three Cameron siblings dropped their luggage to envelope the woman standing there with a large hug. Mrs. Cameron was the spitting image of her daughter. Both with their long brown hair and cheery smiles, and those eyes that made you want to stare at them for hours.

"Where's dad?" Bryce asked excitedly as Lolie came over and gave Mrs. Cameron a hug.

"He'll be around in a minute. He had to use the bathroom." Mrs. Cameron planted a kiss on all of her children and children-in-law's faces. "Hello, Morgan." She gave the pilot a big hug when he appeared.

"Hi, Mrs. Cameron." Morgan gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Hey, kids." Everyone's heads turned to look at Mr. Cameron. Bryce immediately abandoned the group and hugged his father. It was obvious to House that Bryce and his father had been the closest. They looked a lot alike. Both tall and broad shouldered, although Mr. Cameron was round in the middle where his son was slim and chiseled.

It appeared that Stephen was the odd man out in family looks. Although the eyes were the common thread between the three children and their mother, and House could see that Stephen and his father had the same nose.

"We thought we'd have to rent a car." Stephen laughed as he picked up his luggage and they made their way to the parking lot.

Mrs. Cameron shrugged, "We figured we could pick you up and save the hassle."

"Not to mention, if you don't have a car then you can't escape us." Mr. Cameron pointed out.

"I'm sorry that we had to rush the trip so soon." Lolie apologised, "But I don't want to fly in my third trimester."

Mrs. Cameron smiled happily, "I can't believe I'm going to be a grandmother finally!" She cooed as the men threw the luggage into the trunk and the dogs climbed into the van. The human passengers followed the dogs in and soon there was a squashed feeling of too many limbs and tails flailing around.

House was smashed into the back seat with Allison, Lolie and Kane (who was lying across his and Ally's laps) . Bryce was on the floor with the black lab at his wife's feet. Finally, Stephen and Morgan were in the two bucket seats in front of House; Stephen holding the little daschound Mari, and the golden retriever, Sway, was pinned between the door and Morgan's seat.

When they arrived at the home of the Camerons, House felt like he was exiting a clown car as dogs and humans filtered out of the doors. All of the dogs started running around the front yard, anxious to spread their legs after the long flight and then the almost as long car ride from the airport.

The Cameron's had a modest home, surrounded by large wooded areas. They had plenty of open space for the animals to run around in, and plenty of trees to allow privacy. There were no houses for a couple of blocks. "I'll let out Sandy so she can play too." Mrs. Cameron said as her husband and the other guys started unloading the luggage. "The party's tomorrow, I thought it would be nice to have a family day before the _entire_ family meets Greg." She explained.

House was slightly surprised at how quickly the family fell back together. As if nearly ten years of separation hadn't made them miss a step with each other. How was it that Allison's family could forgive and forget and _love_ each other so much that a complication that had lasted ten years hadn't caused the least bit of awkward behavior. If they made it look so easy, then why was House's own father constantly at war with him?

As he and Allison dropped their bags in her old bedroom, House stopped and stared. "Leave in a hurry, did we?" He asked. Her walls were still painted blue and plastered with posters and pictures cut out of magazines, and a calendar from 1996 was still hanging on the wall, displaying June proudly.

"I graduated and I left." Allison replied, flopping onto her bed. "We all did." House heard the bed squeak from years of use and then the years that followed from a lack occupancy. "Bry and Ste alternated every weekend to come visit me. And I was in so many after school activities that I just kind of... Didn't even live here anymore. I worked, went to school, drama club, band, choir... I just didn't live here." She sighed, stretching out on the bed and letting the springs groan with movement.

"And then you come back and all's forgiven?"

Allison sat up and looked at her fiancee, "Well... Yeah."

"Why?"

Allison stared at him a long time before moving her feet to make room for him on the bed, patting it in invitation. When he sat, her arms automatically encircled him. "The same reason I forgave you when you yelled at me and pushed me out of your office when you really wanted to kiss me."

"Because I was hot?"

"No, because I loved you."

"Ah."

"All five of us fucked up our family. All five of us failed together." Allison squeezed him tightly, "And all five of us fixed ourselves, and that's what let us come back together and love again." She murmured the last part in his ear, "And it was all because of you."

"Me, eh?"

"Our parents couldn't find us, Greg. My brothers and I would have never called them, because we would have felt like we gave in. But you called, you stuck your nose where it didn't belong and you broke the silence."

"I was never very good at keeping my mouth shut." He stated with a solemn nod.

"Thank you for being a nosey bastard."

"I'll keep that in mind next time you throw a bottle of lotion at me for looking through your underwear drawer." He snuggled against her on the bed and smiled against her neck.

"You deserved it." She said pointedly.

"I was just making suggestions for what you should wear to work the next morning."

"You were holding up a pair of crotchless panties."

"It would have saved us time on the roof." House shrugged.

With a groan, Allison decided to change the subject before it got out of hand, "You know... It's been exactly ten years to the week since I was last in this room?" Allison pointed out. "I left this house June 13th 1996, and returned June 10th 2006."

"There's that parallelism I was talking about." House grumbled.

Allison rolled her eyes and raised her body enough to drape over her boyfriend's body. They were lying there for a long time in silence when a wonderful aroma made its way up the stairs from the kitchen and settled in their nostrils. "I think I know where you learned to cook." House muttered.

There was a knock on the door that Allison admitted entrance. Jennifer Cameron peaked in the door, "Dinner's ready." She said, smiling at the cute image her daughter and House made.

"What are we having?" Allison and House got up and ran into Allison's siblings in the hallway as they all made their way downstairs for dinner.

"Enchiladas." Jennifer smiled and laughed when everyone whooped and rushed more quickly to the stairs.

House, not nearly as agile as the rest of the Cameron family, let them all stampede in front of him and was left in their dust with Mrs. Cameron. "I take it, this is a dish they all like?"

"When they were kids, they liked just about everything I made." She looked at the deserted hallway. "When Matthew and I divorced we managed to lose a lot of things. And even when we got back together, we couldn't bring all of those things back. I just missed my children." Looking now at House she said softly, "You know, I would have probably screamed myself hoarse at how much older you are than my daughter if it weren't for all this family has gone through. But I'm glad she has you, because you brought her back to me. You gave my husband and I our children back."

"I just wanted her to be happy. She really wanted you at our wedding." House cursed the stairs. Even though his leg was a lot better, the stairs still made him want to pop a Vicodin before, during and after tackling them.

"She wouldn't have called if you hadn't made her."

"I didn't make her do anything." He stood at the landing, waiting for her to reach him. "I just gave her the number."

"You know, she always dated older guys. She said it was because she needed a certain level of maturity. I just didn't realize how mature she wanted." Jennifer laughed.

"She must have grown out of the maturity thing a long time ago then." House muttered when Mrs. Cameron was out of earshot.

House felt weak in the knees at the amount of food on the table. But somehow, looking at the four other men and the pregnant woman, he felt like they could move a mountain of food. When dishes were served up and everyone met in the dining room, House felt the bemused expression spread over his face once again. He had noticed at the first sibling get together that there was an entree shuffle. He had just failed to realize that this shuffle had probably manifested a long time ago in this very home.

As beans and rice and a multitude of other dishes were swapping pieces between the family, House just laughed on the inside. Taking his first bite of food, House felt like he was about to melt into a puddle on the floor over how good it was. Ever since Allison had cooked him a real meal, he hadn't been able to eat take-out more than once a week without craving her cooking. Now that he'd tasted Mrs. Cameron's food, he wasn't so sure he wanted to go back to the east-coast.

After dinner and desert, the family cleared off the dining room table and broke out Trivial Pursuit. They split into two teams. The medical half of the family on one side and the non-medical half on the other side. Of course the non-medical half was at a great disadvantage due to House's random knowledge in every subject. And of course, the medical half had won, but House had to admit, he'd been given a run for his money.

Packing the game back into the box, Bryce broke out a deck of cards and Mrs. Cameron went and grabbed a set of spoons.

"Okay! If we are playing this game, everyone has to take off the jewelry!" Stephen declared and House watched in confusion as everyone took off rings, watches, and bracelets.

"What exactly are we playing?" House asked as Jennifer put down seven spoons.

"Spoons."

"What?"

"Cards 7 through Ace is dealt out to everyone at the table. Then you start rotating cards until someone gets four of a kind. When someone gets four of a kind they grab a spoon, and everyone else has to grab one. The person without a spoon loses and you get a marker. When there are no more markers left, the one with the least wins." Bryce explained as he began dealing out the cards.

Needless to say, it was chaos. There was yanking and pulling, smacking and punching. Playful jibes and distractions, and at one point Bryce had jumped, literally, over the table to reach the spoon that had gone flying across the room when he and Ally had struggled over it. Morgan was the winner in the end, but he was covered in many battle scars from nails and spoons being yanked from between his fingers.

When it was time for bed, sometime after midnight, House barely noticed the pain in his leg as he went up the stairs, too distracted by the throbbing in his hands from a particularly vicious fight he'd had with Allison over a spoon.

"Want me to kiss it and make it better?" Allison teased as they dressed for bed and climbed in between the sheets.

"I got something for you to kiss." House grumbled, pulling her against him and biting down on her neck.

"Ah! Mmmm..." Glancing at the clock Allison noted the time, "Happy Birthday." When he gave her another hard nip on the throat she yelped, "You're so vicious." She pouted, turning in his arm and facing him. House began kissing down her neck and pulling at the collar of her shirt to plant kisses even further down. "Greg, no." She shoved him away halfheartedly.

"No? Not even for my birthday present?" He quirked an eyebrow at her, his hand running down her back and giving her ass a squeeze.

"My parents are right down the hall." Allison hissed.

"So?"

"So!" She hissed again, "They'll hear us."

"Then be quiet."

"You know I can't." She narrowed her eyes. "And my brother and Morgan are right across the hallway. And Bryce and Lolie are just a door down from them!"

"And all probably doing the same thing." House covered her with his body.

"Eew, gross."

"I could turn on the radio."

"This bed squeaks." Allison crossed her arms as House raised himself and looked down at her in exasperation.

"So, I can't make love to you for the next four days?" He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Allison pouted in that realization. "But... But the bed squeaks." She lamented again.

"We could go outside." He teased, lowering again to claim her neck.

Allison wrapped her legs around his waist, "You want to fuck in the backyard?" She quirked an eyebrow now.

House shrugged, "We've fucked outside before."

"Just turn on the radio." She groaned.

"I thought this bed squeaked." He teased, pushing her shirt upwards and palming her breasts. He reached with one hand and turned on the CD player as his other hand gave her breast a hard squeeze. The Wallflowers began playing.

"I was wondering where that CD was." Allison mumbled. "And besides," she sat up and shoved him off of the bed before meeting him on the floor, "the _floor_ doesn't squeak."

"Yeah, but you do." House grabbed her hips and pressed her down as he bucked upwards. Allison let out hard gasp. "See."

"Fuck you."

"That's what I was planning on doing." He looked around from his vantage point on the floor. "Oooh, we could use this!" He reached under her bed. "When's the last time anyone cleaned under there!?" He pulled out a roll of duct tape. "And why was this down there?"

Allison pointed to the posters on her wall. Apparently she'd used duct tape to secure them down.

"Well, it will come in handy with our particular dilemma." House unraveled a piece and tore it free.

"Why-mmnf!" Allison was silenced as House smoothed the silver strip over her mouth.

"See, now you don't squeak." He rolled her onto her back and settled between her legs as the music continued playing in the background.

Allison glared for a moment until House started pulling her pajama pants down. "I'll make it up to you, I promise." House yanked her legs free and threw the pants across the floor. His hands began rubbing her thighs lightly before catching the backs of her knees in his palms.

Pressing her legs up against her chest, House lowered his mouth to her sex, giving it a long, slow lick. Allison bit the inside of her cheek, flattening the bottoms of her feet against House's back.

Sliding two of his fingers into her already wet passage, House curled and flexed them as he nipped and sucked on her clit. Soon she was cringing and writhing in his hands and he watched as she reached up and yanked the duct tape off of her mouth. She pulled him up to meet her lips, "I have to kiss you." She panted, using her feet to push down his own pajama pants. "Fuck me." She groaned as softly as she could, which wasn't very quiet at all.

House smashed his lips against hers, trying to silence her as he rammed his hips into hers. Allison panted and choked on moans the whole time he slammed into her, his mouth only managing to muffle her stifled cries to just barely level with the music.

"A-Ally, baby, you have to be quieter." House grunted.

Allison arched and clenched her teeth, the strain in her neck telling House she was trying her damnedest. Clamping his hand over her mouth he tried as hard as he could to get them there as soon as possible. However, the outcome was the same no matter how fast he got it over with. Allison let out a short, strangled cry that House had to muffle with the blanket.

As they froze, panting and trying to listen for sounds in the hallway, the music played on in the background. "I never realized how loud you are until I needed you to be quiet." House flopped onto his back on the floor. "Now I know why Kane distances herself as much as possible when we're having sex."

"You like me loud." Allison whispered breathlessly.

"Are you two done yet?" Morgan called from across the hallway. "I think you traumatized your brother."

"Well, then you two fuck and get her back for it." House hollered back.

Allison swatted her fiance on the chest. "Shut up." She hissed.

"Come on, guys! Lolie's trying to fall asleep!" Bryce was now in on it from down the hall.

"How about you all shut up or I won't cook breakfast in the morning!" Jennifer shouted from the room that she shared with her husband.

"Jennifer, just go to sleep." Matthew groaned.

"Can I die of embarrassment now?" Allison was flushed deep red.

"I told you we should have gone outside."

TBC

A/N- FYI, I did NOT purposely name Ally's mom Jennifer as a joke. It's just the first name that I thought of that went decently with the last name "Cameron". Anyway... Yeah. Night night!-Andi

P.S- I gave you guys a nice long chapter this time to make up for the last few shorter ones:D-Andi


	37. Chapter 37

Title: Contagious

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Family Reunions and a Brief Reprieve

House watched as the three siblings paced nervously, awaiting the arrival of their extended family. As this took place, House realized just why Allison paced so much, it was heredity.

"Would you three calm down. It's your family, not the firing squad." Lolie soothed from her spot on the couch.

"You haven't met our mom's oldest brother." Bryce grunted. "You remember what he said to Ally at Jakob's open house, don't you?" He said to his brother.

"In the room, you know." Allison waved her hand.

"Don't even get me started." Stephen replied without a hesitation from Allison's comment. He had a look of deep seeded anger on his face that apparently hadn't dissipated over the years. "She handled herself really well though. She didn't cry or even raise her voice!"

"Still in the room." Allison said again.

"We know, Ally." Stephen continued pacing, nearly running into Bryce. "But still, he had no right-"

"Your uncle Louis and Aunt Rosie are here." Jennifer called from the doorway.

"Hi, Jenny." Aunt Rosie gave her baby sister a peck on the cheek. "Now where are my wayward niece and nephews?" She peaked around the corner and saw everyone standing impatiently in the living room. "AH!" She threw her purse onto the kitchen counter and started hugging the three of them and then everyone else but House, who she gave a considering look to. "You must be Dr. House." She held out her hand and shook House's.

"Greg's fine." House shook her hand politely.

"Oh, look at the munchkin!" Uncle Louis started ruffling Allison's hair like she were still a toddler, but on closer observation, he realized that his fiancee didn't mind the action. "Stephen, still as tall as ever." Uncle Louis laughed, clapping the taller nephew hard on the back.

"Yes, tall as ever and making me look like one of the seven dwarfs." Allison grumbled.

"Your Aunt Carol is going to be here in a bit. All of your cousins are running a bit late. Little Jenny was being cranky. And you know when Little Jenny is cranky then Little Katie doesn't want to do anything either." Aunt Rosie rattled on.

"Head swimming yet?" Allison asked her fiance with a devilish smirk.

"I'll be scuba diving when all of these people show up." House grunted.

Luckily, most of the party goers showed up all at once, and their interest was more focused on the Camerons than on House. Thanking whatever deity was watching over him, House went and ate food, which Mrs. Cameron had to cater out for. By the size of some of the family members, House didn't think that she would be able to make enough food for everyone!

During the get together, House was surprised at how many young children there were. Some still in infancy, others in the late stages of baby talk, others just in their pre-teens, and then the teenagers. House watched Allison holding one of her baby second cousins. He nearly fainted when she took another one, and realized it was a set of twins that she'd been teasing him about a week ago. He prayed that it was not some evil form of foreshadowing.

When Mr. Cameron's family arrived, House spotted the cluster of five girls that Allison had mentioned one of her uncles having. Three were of middle eastern descent, as was her uncle's wife, and the other two, which he realized was a set of twins, were more anglo. House groaned. She hadn't been kidding. She did have twins on both sides!

But as he turned and watched her cooing over the babies in her arms, a small smile tugged at his mouth, and he wondered if he would mind seeing a bundle of their own in her arms sometime in the future. Even if he was old when they were in middle school. Even if he was old and fragile when they got married. He could still enjoy imagining seeing Allison holding their baby someday. Baby! Baby singular! No multiples! He pleaded in his head. But seeing those twins in her arms was cute... Please...

Please, no foreshadowing.

At one point the party moved outside and Allison went and grabbed a CD player and some music to play as everyone ate and talked and joked in the backyard as Kane, Sway, Mari, Zoso (Bryce and Lolie's dog), and Sandy (Mr. and Mrs. Cameron's gold lab) ran around the yard, weaving between party goers in an endless game of tag.

"So, how did you meet Greg?" One of Allison's aunts asked.

"We work together. We were in the same department for about three years, but I just got promoted to head the Immunology department a month or so ago." Allison explained.

"So, you've known each other a while then?" Her aunt asked then smiled awkwardly. "Well... If he makes you happy."

"He does."

"He's a bit anti-social though, isn't he?"

"Trust me, you want him to keep his mouth shut." Allison laughed.

"Talking about me?" House snuck up behind her. "Better be something nice." He teased.

"Oh! So, Greg, what department are you in?"

House hated idle chit-chat, and Allison knew this. She also knew that he was bored out of his skull and unless something interesting happened soon, he was going to cause a scene just for the hell of it. Unluckily for Allison, she already had an uncle who was about to do just that.

"Allison!" Uncle Jordan roared in a deep, rattling voice. Allison watched her uncle wheel over to her. He was missing his left foot, taken by diabetes, and was having a tough time getting his wheelchair to move his girth over the uneven patio in the backyard.

"Hi, Uncle Jordan." Allison waved halfheartedly. "How have you been?" She asked kindly.

"Where's this fiance of yours?" Uncle Jordan asked. House raised his hand, trying to keep the bemused expression off of his face. "Him?"

"Yeah, is there a problem?" House placed his hand on Allison's shoulder, drawing her back ever so slightly. This, apparently, was the uncle that had tried to put Allison down back in the day.

Allison managed to place herself between House and her uncle despite her lover's attempt to shove her elsewhere. She rolled her eyes when her uncle took a swig of his Jack and Coke. There was always a twinge of annoyance when she saw him drink. Not only because it turned him into a _complete_ bastard, but because he was _diabetic_. Lolie, Stephen, and herself had tried years back to try and have her mother explain this little bit of danger back when Uncle Jordan had been on his way to developing diabetes, but their uncle had just ignored them.

"The only problem I see, is that you look old enough to be her father." Uncle Jordan growled, taking another swig of his drink.

"Well, if we want to discuss problems we're seeing, why don't I give you a breakdown of my own observations. YOU ARE MISSING A FOOT!" House pointed. "You are a diabetic, probably in a middle stage of kidney failure, and you are probably going to be on dialysis by the end of the month. That is if you're still alive. So, if you're going to tell me I'm too old for your niece, then let me tell you to stop drinking, smoking and killing yourself. If you want to die so bad, then either drink the whole bottle or take a gun to your head, and save us all the annoyance of watching you make a fool of yourself. It'll be cheaper than paying the hospital bills you can look forward to in the next couple of months!"

Needless to say, silence had grown all across the yard. Even the dogs had stopped chasing each other, the only noise coming from the CD player. The awkward silence made House realize that everyone was now staring at him and Allison.

Embarrassed and red faced, Allison took off into the house, leaving her fiance to the stares by himself. "Well, that could have gone better." He looked at the people still staring at him, "She's just so happy to see everyone again." House said as he dodged away and in through the backdoor.

Making his way to Allison's room, House heard choking... laughter?

Opening the door, House saw Allison, lying on the bed, stifling her laughter with a pillow.

"You're laughing?"

Allison looked up, her face red and streaming with tears. "I think I know how you felt now. When I told off your dad at Thanksgiving last year." She choked. "No one in our entire family has ever stood up to him."

House shrugged, "It's easy to yell at stupid people."

Allison watched as House flopped onto the bed next to her and gathered her in his arms. He could tell that even though she was laughing, part of her was still anxious. After all, she'd told off his dad in a more private setting, where he had just nearly screamed at her uncle in front of Allison's _entire_ family. Not to mention, he had also pretty much told her uncle to go blow his brains out.

Tactlessness really did suit him in description.

A moment later though, a large congregation had gathered in Allison's bedroom. Her brothers and their spouses, and a few of her cousins were sitting on the floor now, everyone just staring at each other.

"Well, someone had to say it." Allison's cousin Kate shrugged. "We've been trying to get our mom to talk to him about it for the last four months!" She gestured to her brothers.

"Yeah, and mom just kept saying that it was Jordan's choice and blah blah blah." Louis Junior, Kate's brother, rolled his eyes.

"And then dad was going to talk to him, but our mom stopped him." Charles, Kate's other brother, leaned against the foot of the bed.

"Ally, do you still have your Nintendo in here?" Stephen asked, glancing at her little television. The gray box sat, covered in dust in the tv stand. "Wanna fire it up and play some Mario Brothers?"

Everyone laughed and clambered towards the Tv, taking turns and laughing as they played their way through Mario Brothers. During the middle of a later level, Allison's father came up and took in the group. "This brings back memories. You six would play until one in the morning during the summer." He said, sitting down on the bed and watching. "Anyone want to go play some football? Uncle Jordan's left."

"Sure." Everyone chimed in and stood up to go back outside.

House found Mrs. Cameron as he stepped back outside, "I just wanted to apolo-"

"Don't." Jennifer held up her hand. "You seem to be the only one here that says what we're all thinking." She tried to put on a kind smile, but he could see her struggling with it. "My brother has always been difficult to approach, and none of us could muster up enough courage to out bastard him."

"Well, I'm glad my bastardizing finally came in handy." House replied sarcastically.

Jennifer put her hand to her forehead and sighed, "That didn't come out right. Sorry... I just mean, we're all really stubborn."

"No, really? Do you realize how long I've been around Allison?" House asked.

Jennifer laughed. "I'm just saying. As stubborn as we all are, it's either a fight to the death, or we keep our mouths shut. Unfortunately, in this family, we seem to keep our mouths shut over the things we should speak up for."

"Yeah, I never keep my mouth shut, who knows when I'll mistake myself over what is or is not unimportant. I'd rather just speak my mind all the time, than second guess myself and say nothing when it really matters." House left her at that and joined the family members in a game that wasn't really football, but more, one person throws the ball and everyone else tackles each other trying to get to it first. Needless to say, House opted for throwing it.

"You've got a good arm!" Charles called as his brother nearly elbowed him in the face and their sister jumped on his back trying to take him down. Truly, you wouldn't think that, with exception of Allison, everyone playing was in their late thirties and early forties.

"Why don't you give your arm a break and come catch!?" Matthew Cameron hollered after nearly a half hour of the game.

"Can't run." House called back, giving the football another throw.

"Don't worry, neither can Ally!" Louis Junior yelled back.

"He's missing a section of his quadricep in his right leg." Allison explained. "Infarction."

Kate, who was a nurse, was the only family member to blanch at this other than Allison's siblings.

"Well, just tell me when your arm's getting tired." Matthew called once more.

It was well into ten o'clock that night when the party began to break up. Small children were cranky, parents were exhausted, and had a long commute home. At the end of it all, the siblings and their parents were practically dragging their limbs to bed.

-------------------------------

Two days later, when House and Allison arrived once more at their apartment, after a very tiring flight home from her parents' house, both collapsed on the bed. Neither felt like doing much else at this point, but Allison had brought the mail with her and stared at it tiredly from where it lie on the night stand. With a grunt, she picked up the large stack of envelopes and began flipping through it.

"Junk, junk, bill, junk, bill, something from the hospital for you, something from the hospital for me, bill, junk, junk, junk..." Allison felt the heavy envelope and looked at the return address. "Oh! It's Erica's wedding invitation!" She tore it open.

"Who's Erica?" House mumbled from where he was lying on the bed, the "junk", "bill", and "something from the hospital" envelopes lying sorted into piles on his back.

"Erica is Marah's older sister." Allison began flipping through the invitation, and RSVP. "You remember Marah right? She came up from Florida back in February. I didn't get to see much of her because she only came up for that week to see her sister and help her get the planning in motion." Allison grabbed a pen, "You're going with me, right? It's August 4th." She told him as she went to mark him down as her guest on the RSVP.

"Sure." House yawned, his body movement making the stack of envelopes on his back shudder but not lose their places.

"Marah's coming back up from Florida next week to pick up her bride's maid's dress for our wedding and help me out with a few things before she goes back down. I can't wait to see her again!" Allison kept babbling, not feeling as tired as she put the RSPV in the return envelope and licked it, sealing it effectively. "We should all hang out." She turned to look at House and saw that he'd fallen asleep, the stack of envelopes still on his back.

Allison sighed and began to pick them up.

TBC

A/N- Woot!


	38. Chapter 38

Title: Contagious

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Tamerlane

Blinking his eyes open, House looked at Allison from where he was lying in bed. She was pacing.

Looking at the clock, House noted that it was a little after four in the morning, "Go back to bed, it's still early." He grumbled.

"I can't... I've tried, but I keep waking up." She continued pacing.

"I told you not to drink all of that coffee before bed." House stretched and flopped back against the mattress. Ever since they'd come home from Allison's parents' house, she had been driving herself crazy with wedding plans. She was constantly on the phone with her sister-in-law, getting advice, or with her mother. She was turning herself into a nervous wreck. "Ally, you're supposed to be happy on your wedding day. Not giving yourself an ulcer to rupture in the months preluding it." House patted the bed, and Allison flopped onto it with a tremendous sigh.

"I just feel like if I don't get it taken care of now, then we're going to have to opt for an elopement in Vegas instead." She grumbled.

"Now, there's a plan." He joked, but stopped at her glare. "Ally, all we've got left to do is send the invitations. We've booked the reception hall. We cleared having the ceremony in the park. We have photographer, a DJ, a catering service booked, etcetera, etcetera... You've picked your bridesmaids, and decided on their dresses-"

"I haven't picked out my dress!" Allison sat up in a lightening speed, "How the hell did I forget to pick out my own dress!?" She looked at House with complete shock, but he just laughed.

"Now, that's a classic." He laughed even harder. "You can go this weekend." House stretched again. "There, crisis averted, go back to bed." He curled his arms around her but could still feel the strain in her muscles.

"You know.. You still haven't told me where we're going for our honeymoon." She glared.

"It's a surprise!" House laughed.

"Fine."

"Now what?" He asked curiously.

Allison thought for a moment, "There's something else." She sighed. "It's not wedding related. But I feel heavy."

"Oh God, please don't tell me you're going on a crash diet." House leaned his forehead to her shoulder.

"Not that kind of heavy. I mean, my heart feels heavy." Allison turned in his loose embrace. "You don't want your parents there, do you?" She asked.

House shook his head, "If I did, it would be just my mom. But she'd never come without..."

"I understand." Allison curled her head against his chest. "I wish I could mend your family, like you fixed mine."

"There's a big difference Ally." House sighed. "You actually wanted your family back together, and so did they."

"And you don't?" She asked disbelievingly.

"I don't want anything to do with him."

"What about your mom?"

"Ally." House's tone was an exasperated warning.

"You never told me, you know." She stated.

"What didn't I tell you?"

"What he did to you-"

Allison broke off when House got out of bed and took up pacing where Allison had left off. Apparently she was rubbing off on him. She knew he didn't want to talk about it, but they were getting married in almost four months.

"You've eluding to it a few times Greg. The night on the roof. And then again when we went to West Virginia. You've painted a mass of pictures for me to draw my own conclusions from, but you've never told me!" She got up as well, grabbing his shoulders and spinning him around to face her. "Just tell me."

Allison continued to stare him down, but he showed no signs of breaking. Feeling defeated, Allison turned around and climbed back into bed. She curled under the blankets, effectively cocooning herself from House.

As House fell into bed next to her, he stared up at the ceiling and came to the conclusion that this was going to be a bad day.

------------------------------

Work was a daze that day. House couldn't concentrate, he couldn't even not concentrate. He couldn't play video games, or listen to music. Nothing could distract him from the fight he'd had that morning with Allison.

It wasn't even really a fight, but he knew that he'd hurt her feelings. After all, he butted in on her personal life, and he couldn't even share details of his past with her?

"Do you want it back?" Allison's voice made him jump. He hadn't seen or heard her coming to his office. She was holding her left hand, nervously playing with the engagement ring that was on her finger. "Why did you ask me to marry you, Greg? If you can't even- even t-talk to me?" She was starting to cry, and as tears started to trickle down her face, House found himself rising so quickly from his desk that he barely felt any protest from his leg.

"No, Ally, I couldn't talk." He enveloped her tightly. "But it's not because of you." He pulled her towards the couch and waved his hand at his colleagues, dismissing them so they couldn't watch them like this. Chase and Foreman immediately rose and left the department. "I couldn't say anything because.. Because I guess I'm still afraid." Allison's head shot up when his voice broke. "I've always been afraid of him."

"Afraid of him, or afraid of becoming him?" Allison whispered. "The son is not the father." She assured.

"I'm not him." House said firmly, "I've made it my life not to be him. That's why he-" House cut himself off and swallowed hard. He grabbed Allison's body and pulled her into his lap before. She was his blanket, his shield from whatever he felt would happen when he spoke his next words out loud. He couldn't be harmed with her in his arms. "That's why he tried so hard to make me like him. He tried to give me orders to follow out. He tried to command me like a member of the troops. That's why when I did something other than he'd ordered, he'd hold me down in a tub of ice. Or when I went somewhere that he hadn't consented to, he locked me in a closet. If I spoke without permission he belted me in the face." A sardonic grin spread over House's lips, "I think you can guess how often those things happened.

Allison stared at him for a long time. What she'd imagined in her head hadn't been nearly as bad as what he described. Shuddering as if she could feel the cold of the ice bath he'd mentioned, Allison curled tighter against him.

"Is that enough?" He asked softly. Allison nodded jerkily, she felt horrible now. She felt horrible for making him tell her, and then not being able to handle his story. "Please," he took her left hand in his, "don't threaten me with this ever again?" He planted a kiss on her hand, over the ring he'd given her.

Allison's eyes went wide as she realized that she had indeed questioned his proposal. She hadn't meant to. She had never doubted him, she had just felt so miserable with knowing so little about him, when he seemed to know everything about her. Part of her had wondered if House was with her just to have someone to take care of.

"I just want to take care of you too." Allison murmured, "I want to share with you, not take from you."

"It's hard to share when I won't accept anything I guess." House sighed.

"You don't have to be so afraid of letting me in, Greg, I'm not going anywhere." She assured him. "Just let me help you too sometimes."

"I'll try."

--------------------------

Later that morning, nearing lunchtime, House snuck up to Allison's office and surprised her with a cup of coffee, "I made it myself."

"Aww, how cute." Allison gave his cheek a peck, "You learned how to tame the evil coffee machine."

"Actually, I just watched Chase make a pot and then threw it out, doing the exact opposite of what he did." House explained. "Cuddy asked me an interesting question today."

"Which was?" Allison put the stack of files she'd just finished into the filing cabinet.

"When I plan on replacing you." House said quietly.

Allison paused, "Oh..." She wrapped her arms around her chest. "Well... Umm."

"I don't expect you to come back to diagnostics. I just didn't want to fill your spot before you were sure this is what you want to be doing." He explained.

"... I think it is what I want, Greg." Allison told him.

House sighed, he had anticipated that. "I'll start interviewing next week then." He ran his hands through his hair when his cellphone rang. Fishing around in his pocket, he found the ringing annoyance, "What!?" He snapped his usual phone greeting. "... When?... How?... Why didn't anyone tell me?..." House was silent a long time while the person on the other end talked. Then, without another word, House clicked the phone shut and just let his arms drop to the sides.

"Greg?" Allison said softly, but he didn't say anything.

_"So what are you up here for?" He asked. "Oh, nothing really." Blythe grabbed her purse and stood. "I just needed to apologise in person is all." She planted a kiss on her son's cheek and walked towards the door. House's brow furrowed, wondering what that had been about. No one drives in from Pennsylvania to deliver an apology that can be just as easily mailed or phoned in. Not that he even needed the apology, unless it were from his father._

House had been suspicious of his mother's reasons for coming all the way back to New Jersey to apologise for the Thanksgiving fiasco. But it hadn't occurred to him that his mother had actually been visiting someone else entirely that day.

Walking to the door of Allison's office, House shoved through it and headed towards the elevator.

Worried about what the phone call had been about, Allison followed quickly behind him, just barely slipping into the elevator with her fiance. She didn't say anything the entire decent, hardly daring to catch a glimpse of his face in the reflective surface of the elevator door.

When the elevator chimed and the doors sprung open, Allison was nearly jogging to keep up with House as he made his way to the cafeteria. She saw his line of vision aimed at his oncologist friend, but she didn't know why his stare was so intense. Just standing, watching what he was doing, Allison gasped in surprise.

House went up to Dr. Wilson and grabbed him by the lapel of his lab coat.

"House! What the hell!?" James yelled when House hauled him out of the booth.

"Why didn't you tell me." House barked, shoving Wilson up against the wall. "You didn't think I deserved to know!?" He shouted.

The entire cafeteria had gone quiet, staring at the feud.

"I couldn't!" Wilson choked, his collar pushing into his throat. House released him and threw his fist into his friend's face. Wilson crumbled to the ground, holding his eye that had been struck, "For the same reason you couldn't tell Chase about his dad!"

"This is different." House growled, staring down at his best friend. "You should have told me."

"I-I tried. That day in the elevator. I just couldn't tell you. I couldn't, Greg. So I told you about the Chicago lecture instead!"

_"You got my voicemail."_

_"Yeah. Now what's up?"_

_"Greg-"_

_"Woah! Did you just call me Greg? I'm afraid to know what you're about to tell me." He laughed._

_Wilson stepped into the the elevator, the doors shutting behind him. He let the elevator descend a little before he pulled the emergency stop button._

_House's head whipped to the side to look at his friend. "I've told you nothing." Wilson began, taking a deep breath. "You didn't hear it from me, you haven't spoken to me-"_

_"Spit it out, Wilson." House nearly shouted. Something bad happened, something doctor/patient confidentiality bad._

House took a couple of steps back before turning around and leaving the shock silenced cafeteria. Allison followed him, but when he tried to lose her in the men's bathroom, she only paused momentarily before blowing past the door.

"You promised me, Greg!" She yelled, her voice shaking and echoing off of the tiled walls.

House punched one of the paper towel dispensers. "Can't you read the sign?" He pointed to the door. "Men's room?"

"Do this, don't do that." Allison crossed her arms over her chest.

"Now is not the time to be quoting Five Man Electrical Band." House hissed.

"And now is not the time to welch." Allison shouted. "You promised me, not even two hours ago."

"Well, two hours ago, I didn't expect to get a phone call saying that my mother was dead, now did I?" House shouted back. "And I sure as hell didn't expect to find out that Jimmy was the one who diagnosed her as terminal!"

Allison stared at him a long moment. "Greg." She said firmly, before closing their distance and placing her hands on his shoulders. Tilting her head slightly, she tried to catch his eye, "It's not Wilson's fault."

House shrugged her away, "I know that!" He began pacing. Allison tried not to flinch when he punched the paper towel dispenser again and dislodged it from the wall. "I'm mad at _him_." House ran his sore hand through his hair, "She didn't die _today_, Ally." House turned and faced her, and she saw that tears were pouring down his face. "She died four days ago, my father just decided to tell me now."

Body stiff and eyes wide, Allison watched as for the first time, House lost himself entirely. He was prowling, raking his fingers through his hair and pulling it. He managed to dislodge another paper towel dispenser as well as throw it across the lavatory and effectively smash the mirror.

"He waited until after the fucking funeral to tell me just so I couldn't fucking show up!" He screamed, as he paced over the shattered mirror, the shards crunching under his shoes. It was then that Allison seemed to shake off her paralysis. Giving herself courage, she walked over to him, squaring her shoulders before wrapping her arms around him.

She could hear his heart hammering and feel the shaking in his muscles. Leading him away from the shattered glass, Allison got him to sink down onto the floor. Holding his head to her chest, Allison softly ran her fingers through his hair as he regained control of himself.

"You know... She didn't even do chemo." House mumbled. "They gave her six months without it. She held out for eight."

"Shh. Shh." Allison murmured against his ear. She heard the door open and held House tighter to her breast. It was Wilson, and she looked at him desperately. His eye was already discoloring and beginning to swell shut. Grabbing the "Out of Order" sign, Wilson left the bathroom after giving Allison a weak, supportive smile.

There was something oddly comforting about sitting on the hard, cold tiles of the restroom floor. Even though House's head managed to fill with ideas of how unsanitary the situation was, the comfort came from elsewhere. The comfort was in the fact that Allison was holding him, ignoring just how disgusting sitting in a men's bathroom was. How she could ignore the ick factor and just hold him, her brilliant eyes brimming with tears, knowing that she couldn't absorb his pain, hate, and utter frustration. She was sad because he was. Empathy overload.

"I love you." House's eyes spilled with more tears, for the first time letting them soak her shirt in contrast to how many times she'd showered him with her own salty tears.

"I love you too." Allison's voice was like chalk, breaking and scratching.

The bathroom door opened weakly once more. Barely a sliver cracked between the heavy door and its frame when a female voice streamed through it. "House?" It was Cuddy. Neither Allison nor House replied, too caught up with each other. The door opened further and Lisa slid inside. "I heard about what happened in the cafeteria." She said softly, as if trying not to disrupt the solemn atmosphere, "Do you two want to go home?" Lisa tried to ignore the tears that were dripping from House's normally stoney eyes. The way the water lit up the bright blue orbs was unsettling, and Lisa couldn't bring herself to gaze at the unearthly glow they gave off when dampened with grief.

Allison didn't answer for House, just looked at him with soft, compliant eyes. Whatever he wanted. Anything he needed to do would be fine with her, even if it meant going home by himself and leaving her here to worry about him. House looked at her, hypnotizing her into complete stillness with his gaze. She too felt unsettled by the radiance they gave off. His look was contemplative, curious even, as if wondering what Allison wanted.

"I think we should go home." House's voice was just as broken and dry as hers.

"Okay. I'll tell Foreman... And... Cameron, who do you want me to inform from your department?" Lisa asked, wringing her hands nervously.

"Rachel." Allison helped House stand up, both making their way to the door, which Lisa held open for them.

They didn't even separate to gather their things. Both walking to each department and then back to the elevator to leave. The ride home was silent as Allison drove. She didn't even dare to turn on the radio and distract House from his thoughts.

When they arrived back at their apartment, Allison watched as her lover went to the bedroom and collapsed on the mattress. She didn't know what to do. Should she leave him alone? Should she curl up next to him for comfort? Should she wait for him to talk to her? Or should she try and talk to him first? It was a common dilemma in her relationship with him, merely because with her, he sometimes did the exact opposite of what she would have predicted before they were together.

Back before she had been with him, she knew not to speak or be near him when he was this quiet. It was common knowledge to everyone that Dr. House was not someone you bothered. But he wasn't Dr. House to Allison anymore. He was Greg. And Greg needed her when he was quiet. Greg needed her to hold him. Greg needed her.

Deciding at last, Allison slid out of her shoes and went to the bedroom, spooning up against him and placing her head on his chest. "Is... Is there anything I can get you?" Allison asked carefully. "I could make you something to eat." She offered, then gave herself an internal smack upside the head. She doubted he felt like eating anything.

House didn't say anything at first. He appreciated her coming to lie down with him, and her offer for food, but he didn't feel like eating. Right now, he just needed assurance that he wasn't alone. Without a word, House turned on his side and looked at Allison. She could bare to look him in the eyes now that they were no longer swimming with tears.

As House's hand trailed up her shirt, Allison took a deep breath as his fingers began to unbutton her blouse. This surprised her, she hadn't thought that he would want to do... _that_. But when he undid the top three buttons, he stopped and just pressed his ear over her heart and remained still. Allison's heart quickly stopped its hammering and she just reached up and began stroking his hair. The comfort of a heart beating. The comfort of knowing life was still going on even when one had ended.

Yes, she could comfort him just fine, by living for him.

TBC

A/N-Awww, drama :(... Don't worry that was tying up a couple of loose ends, don't worry I think that was the biggest dip in our roller coaster!-Andi


	39. Chapter 39

Title: Contagious

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Where oh Where?

"You're sure you don't want me to go with you?" House asked Allison, struggling to keep her from pulling her jeans on as he planted kisses on each bit of flesh as it began to cover up. Allison rolled her eyes at him.

"It's bad luck to see the wedding dress before the wedding." Allison chastised, giving her pants another firm tug and vanishing the rest of her hips from his wandering mouth. "I'll see you later."

"But," House pouted, grabbing her around the waist and tugging her back onto his lap, shifting his perch on their bed, "you'll be all alone!" He rubbed his cheek against her sternum.

"No I won't. Lolie's meeting me up." Allison rose from his lap. Giving her fiance a final kiss before leaving, Allison walked out the door feeling guilty.

It was difficult being with House lately. She knew that he hadn't recovered from his mother's death yet, but he acted like it had never happened. After waking up the next morning he had been Dr. House once again. Part of her was wondering if he was repressing his emotions because of her and how she had responded to his tears that day. Another part of her wondered if it was just because of her in general. Did her lover feel like he couldn't feel prolonged pain around her, just so she wouldn't have to deal with the emotional turmoil?

With a heavy feeling in her heart, Allison got in her car and headed towards the train station to take her to New York, and to her sister-in-law.

---------------------

"Hey, little sister!" Lolie enveloped her sister in a big hug when she appeared in the store. However, she quickly withdrew at Allison's lackluster embrace. "What's wrong?" She asked gently.

Allison broke into tears, not a common thing for her to do in front of anyone, especially her sister-in-law. "Greg." She choked through her clenched throat.

Lolie wrapped an arm around Allison's shoulder and led her to a nearby sofa. "What happened?" She cooed carefully.

"His mother passed away this week." Allison sniffled. "And he's not coping with it. He's just repressing."

Shaking her head solemnly, Lolie gave her sister a soft squeeze. "Honey, it's okay." She cooed once more for reassurance. "I'm sure it's just because he doesn't want to worry you."

"It worries me more that he's not dealing with it."

"I'm sure that he is in his own way." Lolie replied with a gentle smile. "You weren't very emotional when your grandfather passed away." She reminded. "Everyone was worried about you too, but we understood that you were just dealing with it quietly and in your own way."

Allison nodded, brushing away her tears. "But I had people who loved me around."

"And so does Greg. He has you! Remember?" She gave her sister a playful nudge. "He knows that you love him, and that's why he's not hurting when you're around him."

Nodding again, Allison realized how House had been clinging to her the last week. How he had tried everything within his power, even delving so far as to try dragging her into an early morning romp to keep her with him longer. Even offering to go _shopping_ with her, which she knew he detested.

With a sigh, Allison looked at her big sister. It seemed those closest to her always knew what to say to calm her down and come to realizations she refused to accept without their input.

"Are you ready to find your dream wedding dress now?" Lolie grinned at her.

Allison nodded.

"Good, because it's hard to do that when you're wallowing." She teased.

"I wasn't wallowing." Allison pouted playfully as they stood and went to peruse the store.

"Uh huh... Oooh, this one's pretty!" Lolie gestured to a sleeveless, form fitting dress.

"I'll freeze to death!" Allison made a face. "I don't want to spend my honeymoon with a cold."

Lolie laughed and they went on in search of Allison's gown.

-----------------------

"Where's your dress?" House yawned when the door opened and Allison returned.

"I didn't find one." Allison lamented, flopping onto the couch next to her fiance. She curled against him. "Greg, I only have three and a half months to find a dress and get it fitted!"

"Sh, you'll find one." He assured, curling his arm around her shoulder.

"How are you doing?" Allison asked softly.

"Fine, why?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

Allison shrugged, "Just wondering."

"Ally, I'm fine." He pulled her closer so that she was almost in his lap. "I know you've been worried about me all week." He told her, bracing his chin on top of her head. "But you shouldn't be."

Allison nodded, hugging him tightly. "I know that now. I know you're coping in your own way." She murmured.

House planted a kiss on her crown. "You know me, Ally."

"I know." She sighed, stretching out her legs, which were aching from her frantic search for a dress. She sighed, turning slightly in his arms, "I can't believe we're getting married soon." She changed the subject. "I can't wait for our honeymoon." She beamed excitedly.

"Why? We'll be doing exactly what we do living in sin." He teased, giving her rear a small pat.

"But we'll be married _and_ in.. Oh wait, that's right." She glared at her fiance. "You still haven't told me where we're going!"

House laughed, "I told you, it's a surprise." He laughed harder at her look.

"Can we play 20 questions over it?" She quirked an eyebrow.

"Five questions. There's only so many places worth going to." He replied stoically, staring at the Tv screen.

"Fine... Is it tropical?"

"No."

"Will I need a passport to go there?" She asked next.

"Yes."

"Is it..." She thought for a moment, wanting to make her questions count for something. "Is it a big city?"

"Yes."

"Is it in Europe?" She asked carefully.

"Nope."

"Is it..." Allison bit her lip. "Crap." She couldn't think of anything.

"I think that is more a personal judgement." House deadpanned.

"Shut up, I can't think!" She groaned. "Is it in... Australia?"

"Ally, if I wanted anything to do with Australia, I'd set kangaroos loose in the department and lock Chase in there with them."

Allison laughed, but deep down felt defeated. She hadn't figured it out, and now she would spend the next three months suffering in silence trying to trick House into letting on to where they were going!

"Come on." Allison stood up and took House's hand, pulling him up from the couch.

"What are we doing?" House asked as she lead him towards the hallway.

"Practicing." She leered at him suggestively.

"For?"

"Our honeymoon." She said as they reached the bedroom and she pushed him down onto the mattress.

"I'm always up for perfecting my technique." House said as he grabbed her hips and pulled her on top of himself.

With an annoyed bark, Kane jingled out of the room and took refuge beneath the piano.

---------------------------

"Can I go with you this time?" House asked as Allison dressed the next morning to continue her quest for a wedding dress alone.

With a sigh, Allison thought for a moment, "Sure." She smiled. House grinned and walked with her to the front door.

------------------------

House was bored. He was annoyed too.

He was annoyed because the damn lady at the bridal shop had called him the father of the bride.

Although he wasn't one to take such suggestions so personally, it really pissed him off.

"Greg, honey..." Allison poked her head out of the dressing room. "Baby, I need help with lacing this up." She cooed, showing him the loose tie she held in her hand.

Getting up, House went to the dressing room, '_I'll show them. Father of the bride, my ass!'_

Taking one look at Allison in the sleeveless, strapless gown, House tilted his head and imagined what she'd look like on their wedding day if she chose it. Of course she'd look beautiful to him no matter what she was wearing. However, when she turned her back to him and showed him the elaborate weave that was holding the back together, his heart nearly stopped.

"Ally, you can't get that."

"Why?" She asked, arching her neck to take in his expression.

"Because I want to fuck you already, and there's no way I'm gonna get that untied quickly enough on our wedding day." He told her.

Turning to face him once again, Allison let the dress drop, leaving herself in nothing but her lacy white panties. "See how easy that was?" She teased.

"It wasn't tied yet." House growled, grabbing her waist and lifting her enough to leave the dress in a white puddle on the floor.

Giggling insanely, Allison wrapped her legs around her fiance's waist, reveling in how strong his leg had become, and how easily he could lift her now, with little hinderance from his leg.

She tried not to moan when he pressed her against the feeble wall of the dressing room, having already come to terms with the fact that she could be down right _noisy_.

With his arms supporting her weight, Allison reached between their bodies and found his fly. There was something dirty but thrilling about being so naughty in a dressing room in a bridal shop. Releasing him from his constraints, Allison barely had time to shove her panties to the side before he surged forward, claiming her body with his.

Allison bit down on his neck trying to smother the groan in her throat. Her hands flung around his shoulders, hugging him closely to her as she rocked her hips in time with his. She could hear the creaking of the thin dry-wall behind her back as it creaked with their thrusting bodies. Her body clenched at the thought that they could be caught, but it only made her pussy throb harder.

Feeling how wet the scenario was making her, House gripped her ass tightly, trying to lessen the burden of the wall against Allison's back. The last thing he needed was to go crashing through. Placing gentle kisses down her neck, House wondered idly if there would be a dent in the wall where her lower back had been pounded against.

"Greg, baby, I'm gonna come soon." Allison whispered huskily in his ear. House clenched his teeth and rocked harder, feeling the sparks behind his eyes at her words. He was right there with her.

As both choked back their cries, swallowing their moans with one another's lips, there was a pounding on the door.

"Do you need any help?" A saleswoman asked on the other side of the dressing room door.

"N-no!" Allison yelped. "Greg's helping me with it." She called.

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the door, "All right then!" She sounded perky as ever. Apparently her delusion that House was Allison's father kept the saleswoman from believing anything improper was going on behind closed doors.

Still braced against one another, House felt a smirk curling his lips, "I think that I like shopping after all." He said with a small laugh.

Allison giggled a bit as he withdrew entirely from her body, and her legs slid down his sides to support her own weight once more. "Now that was sexy." House rumbled. "I like feeling your legs slide against me like that." His hand traced her naked side.

"We are not going a second round in here." She teased and began to dress. "I don't see anything here that I like." She sighed, picking up the wedding dress and placing it back on the hanger.

"I found something I like." House closed the distance once moren, running his hands up her torso and cupping her breasts through her t-shirt.

"I'm sure you did." Allison turned, breaking his loose hold on her chest. "But right now, we have to find a dress."

House sighed, "I know." He pouted slightly.

Together they left the shop and began walking down the sidewalk, the warm air of late June allowing them to take their time.

--------------------------------

It was a month and a half later when Allison was walking with Kane while chatting away on the phone with Erica. "So, how was the honeymoon?" She asked as she glanced at the stores she was passing. "That's awesome... Thank you so much for inviting us... I'm sorry about Greg... No, I'm sure he didn't mean to compare your mother's appearance to a patient suffering from heavy metal poisoning..." With a nervous laugh, Allison decided to end the conversation before she scared Erica into not appearing at her own wedding. "Well, I got to go, but I'll see you in a couple of months... Thanks... Okay, see you and Marah at the rehearsal dinner." With a sigh, Allison hung up and glanced back at the park she'd be getting married at in a couple of months. With a small smile, Allison looked back to the sidewalk and glanced at the little shop to her left. Looking through the glass display window she saw many unique dresses, begging to be gazed at and hopefully bought. With a contemplative look, Allison thought for another moment before tying Kane to a nearby rail.

"I'll be right back." She promised her loyal dog, giving the perked ears a loving scratch before entering the store.

It was a whim really, that made Allison enter the quaint little shop. She hadn't expected to find anything, but as she quickly perused the store's wares, she found herself stopping suddenly to stare at a gown she'd never laid eyes on before. Or at least never seen in the years that designers had remained in a continuous flow of strapless, sleeveless gowns that made a strait drop to the floor. Staring at the gown longer still, Allison knew it was what she had been seeking. It was unique in comparison to all the gowns she'd seen up until this point. She knew she had to try it on.

Finding the lonely saleswoman of the small shop, Allison was soon in a dressing room. As she took in the sight of herself in the gown, she felt like it had been made for her, and hidden in the last place she would have thought to look.

Without even removing the garment, Allison flew out of the dressing room and found the lone saleswoman, "I WANT IT!" She cried.

TBC

A/N- Hehe, I'm hiding the description of the dress until the wedding day! (I'm so mean!)-Andi


	40. Chapter 40

Title: Contagious

Chapter- Forty: WEDDING DAY Preparations (Ha! Tricked you, didn't I?)

Allison was flying around the apartment as she prepared for her siblings to arrive. The rest of her family would be meeting her at the restaurant she and House had picked for the rehearsal dinner. But right now, Allison was frantically hunting down her shoes while House lounged on the couch, Kane's head resting on his knee as she was lying down next to him.

"Every time, Kane." House grunted as he heard the ruckus coming from the closet. "Every time her family comes over, she sanitizes the apartment and freaks out over how she looks until the door buzzes."

Kane only replied with a large sigh, before raising her head, yawning wide, and then plopping it down back onto his knee. Apparently, Kane was just as bored with her mistress's ritual as House was.

When the door finally did buzz, House got up and let up the caller. It was Bryce, Lolie in tow, holding their new little bundle of joy.

"Hi, Greg." Lolie gave her soon to be brother-in-law a peck on the cheek as Bryce shook his hand.

"Hi, Lolie." House returned her kiss with one of his own before staring at the baby that had nearly given Allison an anxiety attack a little over two months ago.

Not only had they been awoken at four in the morning with cries that Lolie had gone into labor, but they had also driven for an hour and a half to get to the hospital to wait with Stephen and Morgan in the maternity level's waiting room. After nearly ten hours of watching Allison alternate between pacing and eating candy from a vending machine, Bryce had come out, excitement all over his face to tell them it was a boy. Of course, everyone had already known it was going to be a boy from the ultra-sounds they'd seen, but it had still been an exciting moment for the family.

Unfortunately, some time around nine in the morning, while Allison was pacing around, she'd received an onslaught of telephone calls from caterers and the DJ, which caused her great stress, and made House want to distance himself as far as he could as she fought ruthlessly over little details. But, near ten o'clock, all had been sorted out and she went back to her mad pacing.

Now, with the family of three standing in their living room, House took his time looking at the baby, which Bryce and Lolie had named Daniel.

The boy definitely had his mother's nose, but those glowing Cameron eyes shown through the tuft of soft brown hair on the top of Daniel's head.

"Do you want to hold him, Greg?" Lolie asked as she heard Allison stumbling around in the bedroom. "I need to check up on Ally." She handed her son over to House and walked down the hall.

House gaped for a moment, looked up at the distancing form of Lolie and then back at the baby in his arms. Somehow in his years of being a doctor, House had managed to maintain a minimal contact with infants. Now... He was holding one in his arms.

Afraid that if he didn't sit down he would drop the unsuspecting baby, House inched towards the couch.

"He's not that fragile, Greg." Bryce laughed, following House to the couch and shooing Kane off to sit down.

Lowering himself on to the cushion, House held the baby away at arms length and stared.

"Planning on any of your own?" Bryce asked, tilting his head and observing House's actions curiously.

"Not sure." House grunted, bringing the baby closer and settling it in his lap, letting the baby's head fall in the crook of his arm.

"I just never thought I'd see the day when Gregory House, misanthropic and curmudgeon doctor, would be holding a cute little baby." She paused for a moment as she took hold of her nephew. "Which you normally refer to as a parasite."

House looked at her a moment, "Well, just don't let word slip out. Your mom still thinks I'm the bastardest bastard that ever bastardized the country."

"Oh, you mean you don't want me to tell Cuddy and Wilson how you've gone soft?" Allison teased. The door buzzed, announcing the arrival of Stephen and Morgan. Handing her nephew back to Lolie, Allison went over to the door and buzzed them up. "I'm sure they'd love to hear about you cuddling with a baaaaaaby." She taunted as she returned, the playful gleam in her eyes telling House that she was nowhere near done teasing him yet.

"I wouldn't go blabbing around the hospital about this and slandering my good reputation." House warned as he closed the distance between them.

"What are you going to do to stop met?" Allison played along, letting her hands rise to her hips.

Pressing close to her, House let his lips slam hard against Allison's mouth before he drifted to her ear to reply breathlessly, "Let's just say... That I can do a lot more with duct tape than just shut that squeaky little mouth of yours..."

Allison batted her lashes at him before placing her hands at his waist, "I thought you liked hearing my cry out your name in bed." She breathed just as quietly.

"Woah!" Morgan distracted them with a snap of the door. "Guess we came in at an awkward time." He teased.

Allison released her fiance and blushed a little. "Hi, Morgan. Hi, Ste." She gave both men a quick peck on the cheeks. She felt flustered at the realization that she'd just had a very provocative moment with her fiance in front of her family, but she tried not to dwell on their knowing glances.

"You have completely corrupted our baby sister." Bryce shook his head in false mourning.

"In more ways than one." House growled in Allison's ear, making her face flush with embarrassment, but a fire pound further south. ------------------------------------

After the wedding rehearsal, where Marah, Erica, Allison's parents, Wilson and Cuddy had met up with them; the group went over to the restaurant to release some much needed energy.

The clinking of a glass drew all eyes to Lisa Cuddy at dinner, "Okay, I just needed to say this." Lisa cleared her throat and stood up. "House, you're stubborn."

"And your chest is falling out." House rolled his eyes.

"You've been stubborn all the years I've known you... And that's why I know that the rest of your life is going to be by the woman sitting next to you." Lisa smiled kindly, "Because I know, you're too stubborn to give up, and that you'll hold onto Allison like you held onto hope when your life was going to hell. You made it through a lot of tough times, Greg. So, here's a remaining lifetime of happiness to make up for everything else. Mazal tov!" "Mazal tov!" Everyone chorused around "awwws".

"You know, that speech would have been even better if your neckline was about two centimeters deeper." House leered, but grunted when his fiancee elbowed him in the gut. Cuddy laughed as she sat back down next to Wilson. "I can't believe I'm going to be short two department heads for three weeks!" She groaned, but their was mirth behind her lament.

"Considering those two are sneaking off to the roof, my balcony and the supply closet on the clinic floor every couple of hours. I think more will get done while they're gone." Wilson muttered to his boss, making her laugh.

"Okay, so you're staying the night with us at the hotel then?" Mrs. Cameron asked as she took a sip of her drink.

"Yeah."

"You're not coming home with me?" House asked his fiancee, surprise and just a slight note of woe in his voice.

"Don't worry, Greg. We'll be with you." Bryce gave his soon to be brother-in-law a nudge. "Ally needs to be up early to get her hair and make-up done."

"Yeah, so we're all spending the night at the hotel, and then going to pamper ourselves in the morning." Marah explained. "Plus, Ally's made it a damn mission hiding that wedding dress from you. There's no way she's going to risk you seeing it tomorrow!"

Everyone laughed, but House still felt annoyed that no one had clued him into that little detail before now.

"I already picked up your dress and took it to the hotel." Lolie assured.

"Thanks." Allison sighed and leaned back in her seat as their food was served. "I just hope the family lets me get some sleep tonight." She grunted, knowing that everyone was at the same hotel, not just her parents and the wedding party.

"You'll be fine. We'll stand as sentries if we have to." Erica teased.

When it was time to leave, House and Allison said their goodbyes at the curb of the restaurant. "Just one night." She assured him, giving him a hard squeeze.

"Yeah." He moped slightly, making Wilson tease him for his helpless response.

Allison gave him another hug and a short kiss, "And you better tell me where the hell we're going on our honeymoon before we get to the airport." She narrowed her mirthful eyes at him.

House laughed slightly, planting a kiss on her crown before they went their separate ways. Allison was ushered into her parents rental car as House was dragged into his car with Wilson, Bryce, Stephen, and Morgan.

----------------------------

The next morning, Allison awoke to a soft knock on her door. Ignoring it for a moment, Allison lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. With a small smile creeping over her lips, Allison gave a stretch. It was her wedding day. She would be getting married in a matter of hours.

Getting up at last, Allison opened the door and looked at Marah, who was waiting on the other side. "This was delivered to my room an hour ago, but I wanted to give you some more time to sleep." She handed over a red envelope.

"Thanks." Allison took it and let her friend step into the room before letting the door roll shut. Opening the envelope, Allison read it to herself, _-I know there was no way you were going to let me see you before the wedding, but I had to at least tell you that I love you. See you in a few hours.-_Greg.

Allison felt a blush rushing up to her cheeks before she replaced it back in the envelope and held it to her chest.

"Oh, he's good." Marah laughed. There was another knock on the door and Marah went to answer it. Lolie stood outside the door with her son, Erica, Lisa Cuddy, and Mrs. Cameron were right there with her. "Come in!" Marah flung the door open and everyone entered.

"What are you doing here, Lisa?" Allison asked as she got out of bed, still clutching her letter from House.

"I thought I'd stay with you girls until the ceremony." Cuddy smirked, "I need to get my hair done too, you know!"

"What's that?" Lolie sat down on the bed, pointing at the envelope in Allison's hand.

"A note from House." Marah provided.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Lolie cooed, bouncing her son on her knee. "Wait... He didn't see you, did he!?"

"No, he took it to my room, and had me deliver it to Ally." Marah explained and everyone seemed to relax at once.

"We need to get moving in a bit." Mrs. Cameron clapped her hands. "You hair appointments are in an hour."

Everyone groaned, but dispersed to get ready to leave the hotel.

It was while their hair was being spun into curls and make-up was being caked onto their faces that one of the hairstylists said something that everyone had been thinking.

"You know," the hairstylist twirled the curling iron, "I've never had a bride as calm as you." She took a bobby pin out of her mouth and stuck it into the Allison's hair.

"That's because she knows she's marrying her perfect guy." Erica winked at Allison as her own hair was transformed into a mass of curls.

Allison felt heat rush through her body. It was weird knowing she was going to exchange vows soon. It was even weirder knowing they were going to be exchanged with the man who, up until a year ago, she thought was unobtainable for her.

Over the course of her fellowship with House, Allison had constantly felt dismissed by him. She felt like she was exactly as he described. A piece of art for him to enjoy looking at. Countless times she had envied Stacey, and countless times she'd gone home to an apartment only occupied by herself and Kane. Gone home to a dog, and envied another woman who had captured the heart of the love of her life.

And now, a year later, she was where she had always wanted to be. She was in love. Something she never truly felt before. She had him. She had her family back. Allison had love all around her, and House had been the one to give her that. House had returned love to her life, and he would be there every time she woke up. He would hold her every time she cried, just as he had the last year.

In that moment, Allison realized that she didn't _need_ to marry House, because in a way, they already were. She didn't need to feel anxiety on this day, and she shouldn't have felt it in the months preluding it. Because they were already living the married life. They were already married in their own little way.

Releasing a laugh that had been the build up of months of planning and stress, Allison reveled in the fact that it had all been for nothing. Because she'd had him the moment she had landed on his doorstep smelling of smoke. The moment he'd pushed the door aside and accepted her into his life.

Hell, if she really thought about it, Allison had him before that. The moment she had pushed him up against her car, pressing her mouth and body against his.

It was her wedding, and nothing could spoil it for her.

TBC!

A/N-Hey guys. Okay, now no one get hysterical!(WARNING- BIG "BUT" COMING)... _**BUT **_(told you it was big!)... but, chapter 41 will conclude "Contagious". I just wanted to give you all a heads up and tell you that "Contagious" is done on chapter 41. (Only one chapter left... Awww --... oh wait.. wait... Another big but coming... _**BUT**_ a sequel (hopefully) is in the making!-Andi


	41. Chapter 41

Title: Contagious

Chapter Forty-one: The Wedding!

Allison stared out the window as they drove back to the hotel to get dressed. She could see the wind blowing through the trees, and was grateful that it was a warmer October day. Closing her eyes she could still see the red and orange leaves flickering along the ground like dancing silhouettes. With a lazy sigh, Allison refrained from letting her head lean against the window and smudge her make-up.

Cuddy looked to her side at the bride, "You look oddly calm." She pointed out, as she turned the car onto the road to the hotel.

"I am oddly calm." Allison laughed. "Just, all those months of stressing over wedding plans and now..." She shrugged, "I'm just not worried about anything, 'cause I've done all I can, and if anything goes wrong, then it goes wrong."

"No pessimism." Lolie scolded jokingly. "Everything's going to be fine!" She gave her sister a shoulder nudge.

"I just wonder what Greg's doing..." Allison sighed once more and caught herself before her forehead pressed to the glass.

--------------------------------

House poured six shots off Jack Daniels as he, Wilson, Stephen, Bryce, Mr. Cameron and Morgan waited for their car that would take them to the park.

"To only having to do this once for you, House... I'm glad you found your soul mate, you miserable bastard. To House and Allison! Mazal tov!" Wilson raised the shot glass and all the men laughed before chorusing in with "Mazal tov!" and clinked their glasses before shooting back the fiery liquid.

Giving his hands a nervous ringing, House started fussing over his tie. He didn't wear ties for a good reason, he could never get them to lie straight, but with the help of his soon to be in-laws, the black tie was now wrestled into a level, vertical line.

"You look relatively calm." Mr. Cameron stated, leaning against the kitchen counter. "I just got off the phone with Jennifer, they just finished getting dressed."

"That's the Jack making me calm, but how's Ally doing?" House asked, grabbing the JD and pouring another shot.

"Calm as a cucumber." Matthew took the bottle next.

"Then why the hell am I having a near anxiety attack?" House stole the bottle back after Matthew had poured his glass.

"Take it easy on the Jack, Greg!" Bryce called from the living room.

House rolled his eyes and took the shot anyway.

"You're anxious, because you want it to be perfect." Matthew supplied and smiled at House's grunt. "You've never been married before, have you?"

"Nope."

"Well, let me give you the low down." Matthew put the top back on the bottle. "I'm sure you're just going to let this roll off considering what happened to me and Jennifer."

"Wilson's been divorced three times and I still listen to some things he tells me." House shrugged.

"Please leave me out of this." Wilson yelled from his spot on the couch.

"Jen spent her every waking moment planning our first wedding. The day of it though, she was the one put together and I was the one nervous as hell. It wasn't because I was afraid of marrying her. It was because I knew how much stress she'd built up over it, and I was afraid something would go wrong and ruin it for her." Matthew supplied. "I think that's why you've got the jitters. No cold feet. No second thoughts. Just loving someone so much that the only thing you worry about- is their happiness."

House didn't know if it was Matthew's words, or the Jack Daniels, but he suddenly felt much better. His hands didn't feel like Niagra Falls from their sweating anymore, and his legs didn't seem to vibrate underneath him now. "Thanks."

"Car's here!" Stephen called from his spot near the window.

The men filed towards the door and House took one last deep breath before leaving the apartment.

--------------------------

House tried not to glare at the video camera that Foreman was zooming in on him. He and Chase, along with the two other fellows from Allison's department were seated near the front of the congregation.

Trying not to tap his foot with annoyance, House opted for staring down the "aisle" for Allison's arrival. When Erica and Morgan appeared from behind the partition first and walked down the aisle with large, identical grins, House took a deep breath. _Here we go!_

Reaching the front, Erica went to her violin case and pulled out the stringed instrument. She gave House a reassuring smile as she set down her bouquet and picked up her bow. Soon the Wedding March began, introducing the procession.

Next to follow was Marah and Stephen, followed by Bryce and Cuddy. House thought it must have felt very strange for Allison's brothers to be walking down the aisle with someone other than their actual spouse. Soon, Lolie and Wilson appeared and took their respective sides. Erica's violin faded out, and then Cannon in D filtered past the strings. House took another deep inhalation before Allison appeared, which was a good call because when she came into view, he suddenly forgot how to breathe.

House understood now why Allison had hidden her dress so well. Although she could have taken his breath away whether he'd seen it or not, he appreciated the heat he felt over just seeing her.

The flowing white of her gown swayed in the October breeze, lace flittering over the thicker material that resided beneath. Though the bottom was wide, a contrast to the slim gowns of late, it came to a cinched waist that blossomed upward and accented what House considered to be the most well formed breasts he'd ever seen. The off the shoulder sleeves blended well into the dress as they flowed downward in a gaping opening, the fabric at the cuffs dipping down past her hips as she held her bouquet at her chest.

She was his beautiful Victorian bride.

As Allison approached, her father's arm laced in hers, House felt himself shift, but remained still instead of following his first instinct to take Allison from her father and run away with her. After today, he would be the only man to escort her anywhere ever again. That thought sent another wave of heat over his body.

When Matthew reached House, he lifted his daughter's veil and gave her cheek a gentle kiss before placing the thin fabric back down and going to his seat. Taking position next to his bride, House felt his hand find hers as they faced Judge Edgars. She gave his hand a hard squeeze.

"Good afternoon." Judge Edgars began. "We are gathered here today to celebrate in the union of Gregory House and Allison Cameron. If anyone has reason that these two should not be wed, please speak now."

"Too many to count." Wilson muttered under his breath, but it didn't stop House from hearing and giving his best man a quick jab with his elbow in the gut. Allison gripped House's hand firmly in warning and he gave it an apologetic shake.

"Was that an objection?" Judge Edgars quirked an eyebrow.

"No." Wilson tried not to double over, though his voice was breathless.

With a nod, Judge Edgars continued. "The oldest brother of the bride will now give the opening reading."

Stephen stepped forward, looking more pale than usual. Clearing his throat, Stephen began nervously,

_"I want to capture your face behind my eyelids and stare at you in my dreams- Your eyes, so cold, that they make my heart burst into flames..."_

Allison froze as her brother spoke. He had taken that from her book. Looking at House, Allison knew that he had recognized it as well. It hadn't been so much a poem, just a want she'd had. Allison had always dreamed of dreaming of someone.

The proceedings continued as Judge Edgars spoke, "Marriage is not something to be stepped into lightly," he began, and House couldn't resist looking at Wilson with a smirk, "it should be entered into with utmost care, and be shared between two people who love each other deeply."

Allison was now smirking as well, giving Wilson a sideways glance. The oncologist glared at them both, but rolled his eyes anyway.

"Now, Greg and Allison will exchange vows." Judge Edgars gestured to Allison and House.

House began first. This had been the part he'd been dreading all day. "I..." House froze for a second and shook his head, "You know, Ally... I had this whole thing written out. I even had it memorized. But you did to me now, the same thing you did when I first saw you. You took all the thoughts from my brain." House's hand was still holding Allison's, and his thumb grazed over her palm, "You turn me into a fool, but you turn me into a better person too. Even people who thought I was a complete bastard can tolerate me when you're by my side. You gave me love. You gave me family. And all I can give you... Is myself."

Allison trembled, she could feel tears building in her eyes, and she damned the groom for reducing her to a puddle of goo before she was suppose to speak. She wanted to cry. She wanted to hold him. She wanted to kiss him. But she couldn't do any of that until she'd spoken her words.

Swallowing hard, Allison took a rattling breath, "Love is so contagious." She began. "Just like the little bug that brought us together in stages. Love hit me first, and then it went into you. And that is how our love grew. It swarmed inside me and then remained. I thought it would be forever contained. But it escaped and went to your heart. From that moment, we were never apart. You pushed me away like a vaccination. But I'm contagious, and have great preservation. I laid in wait, for your weakest time. And jumped at the moment when I knew you could be mine. And now I'm realizing my life. And how, with you, I'll take it in stride. We'll stand together, contagious forever. Loving forever, contagious together."

House smiled at Allison, giving her hand a light squeeze. It had been a long time since he thought of what had brought them here. Somehow, in their year together, he had completely forgot what it had been like before they had taken care of each other. It was true that they hadn't really been apart from each other since the day he had taken her home. And he was grateful that she had pounced at her opportunity to be with him. He would love her everyday for being braver than he had been.

Judge Edgars cleared his throat, "Now, Bryce Cameron will give a reading." He stated.

Bryce stepped forward, seemingly more confident than his brother had been, "Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart." Bryce inclined his head and returned back to the his place with the wedding party. Allison and House smiled, grateful that her brothers had kept their quotations very short. They must have realized that the couple didn't want the ceremony to drag on.

At that moment, a bark resounded from the end of the aisle. Kane wagged her tail proudly and trotted down the aisle. Everyone laughed as the dog came to the bride and groom and sat down.

"And now, the exchanging of the rings." Judge Edgars laughed as Kane wagged her tail.

House bent over and retrieved the smaller of the two platinum bands from the secured tie on Kane's collar. Straightening up, House placed the ring against Allison's fingers and recited after the judge. "I, Gregory House, give you, Allison Cameron, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and devotion to you." House slid the ring over Allison's finger, and he could feel her fingers tremble as he did so.

However, before Allison could take the identical, though larger, ring from Kane's collar, the dog was off like a dart. Allison groaned as Kane took chase to a nearby squirrel.

"HEY! WE STILL NEED YOU OVER HERE!" House bellowed. Kane stopped halfway down the aisle and looked at House, irritation all over her doggy face. "Come here." House pointed.

Kane's expression seemed to droop as she cantered back over to the wedding party and sat down, disdain written in her body language.

Shaking her head, Allison leaned over and took the ring on Kane's collar, which had, luckily, not dislodged in the dog's dash.

Placing the ring over House's fourth digit, she made the same declaration before sliding the ring the rest of the way onto his finger.

"By the power vested in me by the state of New Jersey, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Judge Edgars stated.

Finally to the part that both Allison and House had been anticipating all day; House raised Allison's veil and took in the non-distorted sight of her face. Though her make-up was blotched ever-so-slightly from earlier tears, she looked breathtaking. Inclining his head, House lowered his lips to hers and he felt Allison's arms twine around his neck as their lips met. Pulling away they looked at each other, neither quite believing that they were now married. It had been such an interesting road getting here, and now they had an even greater journey ahead of themselves.

"I now present to you with, Mr. and Mrs. House." Judge Edgars finalized to the congregation.

Everyone stood and clapped as House and Allison went down the aisle together, hands still clasped together tightly.

"How many layers on that dress?" House mumbled to Allison as they went to their limo.

"About four." Allison smirked, knowing where he was getting with that question.

"Any framework?"

"Nope."

"Good girl." House grinned as he opened the door for her and climbed in behind her.

---------------

Riding to the hotel that the reception would be taking place at, House played with the new ring on his finger, rubbing his thumb against the smooth surface. He could see Allison twisting her own ring around her finger, and he just smiled at her when she looked at him.

"This feels so weird." She blushed prettily, like they had never been intimate up until this day.

"I was thinking the same thing." House laughed a bit, but he leaned in and kissed her as the limo pulled up to the hotel. "But a good weird." He breathed against her lips.

A bellhop came and took the luggage in the trunk, for the plane taking them away on their honeymoon would not be leaving until the morning. It seemed odd to get a hotel room when their apartment was only a few city blocks away, but they had decided to indulge in all of the perks of honeymooning.

House tipped the bellhop as he finished placing the last of their luggage in the room, "Congratulations." The bellhop grinned as he left.

"Hmm, how much time do you think we have before people will miss us at the reception?" House asked, embracing his new wife around her cinched waist.

"Greg, there's no way we're getting this dress off and then back on." Allison laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"We don't have to take it _all_ the way off." He pressed his tongue against his teeth as he started pushing her backwards towards the bed.

"Aw, but, honey, I had such a nice surprise for you tonight, and you'll ruin it if we consumate the marriage _now_..." She teased.

House thought for a moment. Firstly, the word consumate coming from her lips was the cutest thing he'd ever heard. Especially with all the... _consumating_ they'd done before getting married. Secondly, the playfulness in her voice lead him to think that maybe it might just be worth waiting for. Giving Allison another peck on the lips, House nodded and the two made their way back downstairs to the ballroom where their bridal party was waiting for them.

"Wow, we didn't expect to see you so soon." Lolie teased, hugging her sister.

"Especially after yesterday's little display before the rehearsal dinner." Bryce clapped his new brother-in-law on the shoulder.

"I think we can control ourselves for a few more hours." House replied, lazily stroking Allison's bare shoulder as his other arm curled around her waist. Allison smiled softly and leaned her head back to rest against his own shoulder. The family smiled warmly at the gentle display.

Soon the guests from the wedding arrived and started getting seated. Foreman and Chase went up to their boss to congratulate the pair. "It took three years, but better than never." Foreman hugged Allison and shook House's hand.

"Wow... I guess we can't call you "Cam" anymore, huh?" Chase laughed somewhat awkwardly while he glanced over Allison's shoulder.

Allison took a glimpse behind her and saw Marah chatting away with her sister. With a slight smirk, Allison nodded, "It's either Allison or Dr. House now." She laughed.

"It would be just too weird calling you Dr. House." Foreman shook his head, recovering from the idea of calling her his boss's name. "Guess it's Allison then."

When everyone had gotten in their congratulations, they sat down for dinner, and much to House's dismay, the toasts began.

Wilson stood first, and House groaned aloud, earning a slap upside the head from Ally.

"Spousal abuse already?" House gawked at her, and the party goers laughed when Allison just shrugged.

"Anyone here who knows House, is also well aware of what a pain in the ass he can be." Wilson began and got a laugh out of the hospital employees. "He's difficult and never does what anyone asks of him."

"Are you trying to get an annulment out of her?" House groaned.

"But," Wilson exaggerated the next opening word, "he has his reasons, though most of us can rarely understand them. That's why I knew from the beginning that Allison was perfect for him. She had the patience to learn to understand him, and she had the love he needed. Ally," Wilson turned to look at the young woman, "if there's anything I've regretted more than three failed marriages, it's what I said to you the day you and House got together. I thought your goal was to coddle him and make him helpless. But instead, you kept him on his toes and, yeah, you made him more dependant in you than anyone would have ever expected House could become, but not in the way I feared. You made him helpless to your gaze, and helpless to your love, and God that must be the most amazing feeling." He raised his champagne glass high. "To Greg and Allison House, may they spend the rest of their lives helpless to each other." He gestured with a smile before everyone toasted as well, taking a long sip.

Lolie stood next after the applause ended, clearing her throat, a nervous smile quivered over her lips. "When I see Greg and Ally together, I see many things. When I look at how his eyes follow her every movement, I know he'll watch over her and care for her. When I see how Ally sets a gentle hand in his, I know that she will always be understanding and patient. And," Lolie choked a bit, "when I see that look in Greg's eye whenever Ally twirls her ring around her finger; a look of possession and devotion all at once, I know that he will never let anything come between them. But I know for sure, every time I see them together, that there's nothing that can't get through with a little humor, a little patience, and a _lot_ of love. Luckily, they have a great abundance of all three. To Greg and Ally House." Lolie raised her glass now and everyone toasted a second time before the party goers broke into applause and then a quick succession of conversation.

Before dinner would be served, Allison noticed a slight tremor beneath House's eye. She knew something was making him nervous. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." House replied stiffly.

"Liar." She glared slightly.

House smiled at her, "Nothing's wrong." He said gently.

Right when Allison was about to interrogate further, the doors to the hall flung open, and one of the reception coordinators came in, pushing a piano. Allison's mouth clamped shut and House stood up. "Greg?" She said breathlessly.

Smiling down at her, he brushed his finger against her jaw before taking her hand and leading her towards the piano. The wedding guests quieted when House and Allison came to the piano and sat down on the bench that an assistant coordinator had provided. There was an abrupt hush when House's fingers rested over the keys and made no sound.

Taking a look at Allison, House leaned over and kissed her cheek before his fingers finally pressed the keys with a firm caress. Allison watched his fingers move as the sound went to her ears. She noticed immediately that it was not a song she knew. Observing further she realized that it was not a song anyone knew but House.

He hadn't lied, he had really composed a song for her. It had almost been a year since he'd stated that he was going to do so, but she had figured it had just been a line to get her to stop asking questions about something...

Closing her eyes, Allison listened to the minor chords that filtered into her ears. The sound was so depressed, like there was something lying across the strings and keeping them from vibrating and releasing the sounds that they should. Soon, a key change occurred, and the tempo picked up slightly. It was at the key change to major that Allison realized that it was a song about himself. With this realization, Allison looked at his concentrating face. The clench in his jaw and the stiffness in his arms told her one thing. This wasn't the song he'd written. He was trying too hard.

Leaning over, Allison leaned her head on his shoulder and murmured, "Perfection isn't what makes a song great." She felt the tension in his shoulders dissipate at the simple phrase, and the slackening made his entire body relax. _Now_ he was playing their song.

When the final chord died away, applause broke out and House tried not to grimace. He knew that no one else would understand the song. He knew that all they would here was a beginning of incoherence, a middle of soft drivel, and an ending of optimism. But no one would know it like Allison did. And that's all that mattered to him. This was the only way he knew he could express just how deeply she lived in his heart to the people who had attended his wedding, and all he cared about was knowing that she appreciated it. And judging by the tears spilling from her eyes and the words she'd spoken; House knew that she appreciated it with all of her heart, and that was enough.

------------------------------

House and Allison leaned against the walls of the elevator. Both had been trying to wait patiently for the reception to conclude, but it seemed to last forever!

Not to say that it hadn't been fun and contributed a few lasting moments into their memories. Like Foreman getting drunk and doing the "lawnmower". Or watching Marah and Chase sneak off to the elevators and hitching a ride to the hotel rooms on the upper flors. In their opinion, the highlight had been catching Cuddy and Wilson making out behind one of the columns in the reception hall.

However, despite the fun their reception had been, both were glad to be going up to their room at last.

Closing the door behind him, House noticed somethings he hadn't in the dim lights of the reception's hall. He had failed to notice how wild Allison's hair had become in comparison to it's tamed appearance at the beginning of the day. He had failed to notice that her immaculate make-up had been sweated away in vigorous dancing. And he had also failed to notice the disheveled order that her dress was in. But something he had noticed the whole night was how beautiful she was from the beginning of the day to end.

Placing his hands on her waist, House trailed his finger tips from the curve of her waist, up the tight frame of her torso and against the swell of the side of her breast. His forehead leaned against hers as he smiled gently. "Can I finally take this off of you?" He asked as he lazily stroked the lacy fabric.

Allison smiled and turned around, letting the tips of his fingers slide across her body. Smiling himself now, House went to work on the laces that ran down the length of the back of the dress. He could feel her shivering as his fingers tingled along her back as they made quick work of the satin chord. When the final string was released, her dress seemed to bloom open like a flower petal as it slid from her body. Watching the descent of the dress to the floor, House admired the garments that resided beneath. A satiny white strapless bra and matching panties that when he ran his fingers over the thong's front, he could feel the smooth fabric glide beneath his fingers like liquid silk.

Pushing him towards the bed, Allison began undoing his tie, and unbuttoning his shirt. Soon he was down to just his boxers and she pushed him onto the bed. "I love you." She murmured as she stepped onto the bed and crawled up the length of his body. House reached up and undid her bra. Th straps slid down her arms and away from her body, causing her to shift slightly and fling it across the room.

"I love you too." House replied softly as he took hold of her hips and slid her panties down before rolling them so that he was on top. Allison smiled up at him from her new position, and raised her legs to hook her pedicured toenails onto the elastic of his boxers and push them down off of his hips.

Their lovemaking was soft and slow to begin, both wanting to savor their first coupling as husband and wife. Soon, however, their needs won out and the tempo accelerated to the point that both were pushing and shoving to regain the top position once more. When they came together, each other's names on their lips, they knew that theirs would be the only ones to ever be called with such passionate love for the rest of their lives. And when they collapsed onto the bed in momentary exhaustion, they knew that these moments would only be shared with each other. And when another hour passed and they repeated their previous act, they knew that a long life of loving each other was just what they wanted... But maybe, a long life of loving each other plus one was in their future too...

-The End

A/N- Yes, it is over. Contagious is over, so I leave you with a nice long chapter and a few hugs and kisses, AND... Yes, AND- A side note that I am doing a sequel. It will be titled "Parasitic"(Going with a theme here!), and will be posted later. But right now, I have an idea for another fic. (it will be reasonably shorter than this one was! lol) It is titled "Mentor" and I hope that everyone who enjoyed this fic will check it out. It should be debuting in about a day(or maybe even sooner!)! YAY! lol. Anyway, let me know if you even want a sequel, cuz I don't want to be beating a dead horse if you don't... --Shrug-- Just review ;) And See you in "Mentor"!-Andi(HUGS AND KISSES)

P.S- I'm probably going to get started on "Parasitic" when I've got a couple of chapters of "Mentor" up. I'll probably A/N and give you guys a heads up to the first posting of the sequel while I'm posting "Mentor"... So if you _really_ want to be notified- either put me on your author alert or just read "Mentor" (PLEASE READ IT!)... and yea... See You guys!-Andi


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